It Must Be Destiny
by Kishiro Kitsune
Summary: Brothers Axel and Riku Firehaven move from Destiny Island to Twilight Town where they are separated into different schools. At school they each make new friends, but the most unique of the friends is a blue eyed boy. shonen ai. RikuSora AkuRoku COMPLETE
1. Chapter 1

Summary: Brothers Axel and Riku Firehaven move from Destiny Island to Twilight Town where they are separated into different schools. At school they each make new friends, but the most unique of the friends is a blue-eyed boy. Little do they know, the boys they befriend will lead the way to an interesting life. Riku/Sora, AkuRoku, Zemyx, and others

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Kingdom Hearts or Final Fantasy. They belong to Square Enix (and Disney, in the case of KH)

**It Must Be Destiny**

_Chapter 1_

Axel and Riku Firehaven sit in the back of the family truck staring out the windows with very unhappy expressions on their faces. Both of them have their hair pulled back into a low ponytail and they're wearing near identical clothes.

In the front of the truck are their parents. Their father, who shares Axel's wild red hair, is sitting in the passenger seat and is trying to give directions using a map that's upside down. Their mother, who has white hair like Riku's, is driving and having a hard time of it because of her husband's complete lack of direction.

"Oh, that's enough!" Their mother growls as she pulls off of the road and into a gas station parking lot. She parks the car and snatches the map from her husband. "You've been looking at it upside down this whole time!"

Axel and Riku continue staring out the window and pay no attention to their parents' squabbling. The two aren't at all happy about moving from Destiny Island all the way to Twilight Town, especially not with school already in session.

"Riku, will you help me?" Their mom asks.

"I don't feel like it." Riku mutters dispassionately.

Mrs. Firehaven sighs. "How about you, Axel-dear? Will you help out your mommy with directions?"

Axel doesn't even grace her with a reply. He just continues to stare out the window.

"Now boys, I know you're upset about moving, but that's no reason to ignore your mother." Their dad says. "Help her find where we're going."

"Why don't you do it, since you're so good at helping." Riku says crossly.

"Boys!" Mrs. Firehaven says in a warning tone.

Riku and Axel exchange glances before Axel reaches forward and takes the map from their mom. Together the two boys go over the map, glancing up once to figure out what road they were just on. In under ten minutes they hand the neatly folded up map to their dad.

"Get back on the road and continue to the direction you were going until you see the exit for Twilight Road. It'll lead straight to Twilight Town." Riku says. Then he goes back to looking out the window like Axel is already doing.

With the exception of slight bickering between Mr. And Mrs. Firehaven, the rest of the ride to their new house is a quite one.

They arrive at their new home on the outskirts of Twilight Town late in the evening, although you wouldn't know that by the way it looks outside. Without saying a word, Axel and Riku get their suitcases out of the bed of the truck and take it into the house. Their parents let them do what they want, knowing that whatever they say will most likely be ignored. They figure that the two will be calmed down by morning.

They couldn't be more wrong.

Early the next morning Riku and Axel trudge down the stairs still in the clothes they wore to bed. The two sit down at the table and begin to eat breakfast, ignoring their mom's cheerful chattering.

"Boys, you understand that you will be going to school today, right?" Mrs. Firehaven questions, not really expecting an answer. "And I know that neither of you know where your school is, but thankfully your father and I met two of the nicest kids last night and they agreed to show you around. And Axel, I know that you hate uniforms but your school requires one so--"

"Why doesn't Riku have to wear one?" Axel demands. "Why is it just me?"

Mrs. Firehaven sighs. "I thought I told you this already. You two are going to different Schools. Axel, you're going to Sunset High School and Riku, you're going to Twilight High School."

"WHAT?!" The two boys yell in surprise and outrage, jumping up from the table.

"You can't just separate us like this!" Riku yells.

"Especially not in some creepy-"

"-completely different-"

"-place." Axel finishes the sentence. "We don't even know anyone here! And why are we going to different schools?!"

"Sunset High specializes in the arts and Twilight High is more sports oriented." Mrs. Firehaven says as if that explains everything.

Axel just about chokes and his eyes go wide. He makes some sort of strangled choking noise before he regains the ability of speech. "You signed me up for an _art school_?!" He wishes the yell didn't come out so squeaky, but no one else seems to notice it.

"Yes." Their mom says. "You're an excellent artist, Axel. You shouldn't be so shy about it."

Before Axel can say anything about his art skills, the doorbell rings and Mrs. Firehaven goes to answer the door. When he's sure she's not watching, Riku pats Axel on the back in comforting gesture.

"It shouldn't be too bad. You _are _a good artist." Riku tells his brother.

"That's not the point." Axel practically snaps. "The point is that we're not suppose to be apart. We've _never _been apart. This is just…"

"Weird." Riku fills in. "I know, but there's not much we can do. And we'll still see each other every day, so its not like we'll be apart for long periods of time."

"We've never been apart for longer than six hours and we've always had the option of being able to be near one another if we wanted to! Now what will we do?" Axel asks.

"We'll call one another between classes." Riku says. "That will be better than nothing."

Their conversation ends then and there as Mrs. Firehaven leads two teens into the kitchen. One is a girl with short black hair and dark violet eyes. She's wearing a black and white camouflage shirt with a black vest over top and faded black jeans. A strip of black cloth is wound around her head.

The other teen is a boy with blond hair styled up in a mullet. His bright sea green eyes take in everything they can and his cheerful smiles tells the boys that he's a morning person. He's wearing the uniform for Sunset High, which consists of dark red pants, a white button-down short-sleeve shirt, and a tie that's orange and red swirled together.

"Hi! I'm Demyx Kaiyou!" The boy cheerfully says.

"And I'm the grand ninja Yuffie Kisaragi!" The girl yells, punching a fist into the air.

One thought runs through Axel's and Riku's mind simultaneously. _'These people are insane!'_

"Boys, how about you go change so you can get to school early." Mrs. Firehaven suggests. "It would be good for you two to get to your schools early so you can be shown around. I'd hate for you to get lost during the day."

"We're not dad, mother." Riku says condescendingly before he and Axel head up the stairs to their rooms.

"I expect to see you come down in your uniform, Axel Firehaven!" Their mom yells after them. Right after she says this the phone begins ringing and she gives Yuffie and Demyx a smile before rushing off to answer it.

"Interesting family, huh?" Yuffie remarks. "Which one do you think is going to Sunset?"

"I don't know." Demyx replies with a shrug. "Which one do you think it'll be?"

Yuffie thinks for a minute before replying. "The redhead." She says. "The cute white-haired one has more muscles."

"What? Art guys can't have muscles?" Demyx asks defensively.

Yuffie crosses her arms over her chest. "Name one guy at Sunset who actually has muscles like that." She challenges.

Demyx frowns thoughtfully, mentally going over all of the guys he knows at Sunset. He grins when he thinks of one. "Marluxia."

"Damn, you're right." Yuffie curses. "Flower-man does have muscles, doesn't he? Probably from all that work outside that he does." She grins at Demyx teasingly. "I still don't think the white-haired one is the art one."

"Do you have another stupid reason?" Demyx asks, his tone joking and friendly.

Yuffie sticks out her tongue. "My reason made sense, Mr. Know-it-all. We'll see who's right when they come down."

Their conversation comes to an end just in time. Mrs. Firehaven re-enters the kitchen with a slightly annoyed expression on her face.

"Boys, hurry up!" She yells up the stairs. "I've got to go find your father and direct him in the right direction!" She mumbles something that sounds distinctly like, "That man should _not _be allowed to drive."

"We're coming!" Riku yells back at her.

A few seconds later the two come trudging down the stairs for the second time that morning. Riku's wearing a shirt that reads, 'Real men wear BLACK' and his favorite pair of tattered black jeans and old black sneakers. Black streaks of dye run through his hair sporadically and he has his eyes outlines in black. Around one wrist is a black wristband and around the other wrist is a metal cuff with his name engraved across it.

Yuffie curses and looks him up and down. "Damn, you can't be straight."

Riku actually looks a little amused by her remark. He raises an eyebrow and asks, "Oh?"

"What makes you say that? The fact that he's wearing eyeliner, the fact that he actually owns eyeliner, or the fact that his jeans hang too low for him to be considered straight and they cling to his waist perfectly?" Axel asks.

"It never fails to creep me out when you notice stuff like that. And by the way, you can't really talk." Riku tells his brother, minding his language with their mom in the room. "What exactly are you wearing?"

Axel smirks and looks down at his uniform. "What? Disappointed that I look hotter than you?"

"In your dreams." Riku shoots back.

Mrs. Firehaven puts her hands on her hips and gives Axel a look. "Axel, that is not your uniform."

Axel's smirk grows wider. "Yes it is. I just tweaked it a bit." He is telling the truth; he really is wearing the uniform. It's just that underneath the white button-down shirt is a long-sleeved shirt that has red and black striped sleeves and his dark red pants are ripped at the knees. Like Riku, his eyes are also outlined in black.

"I would have done the black streaks through my hair but someone," He glares at Riku, who just smirks. "Stole my temporary dye. You so owe me, Riku."

Riku shrugs.

Mrs. Firehaven sighs. "I don't have time for this!" She exclaims. "Go to school! I have things to do and a certain husband to locate."

Riku and Axel leave with Yuffie and Demyx before their mom changes her mind and makes them go change clothes or wash off the dye or make-up. It's happened before.

Yuffie and Riku arrive at Twilight High School early; much earlier than normal people get there, but that's fine since the school campus is huge and it will take Yuffie a while to show him around.

Yuffie spreads out her arms. "Well, here it is! Our grand school of Twilight Town!" She drops her arms to her side and turns to face Riku. "We'd better go get your schedule before I show you around."

Riku opens his mouth to say something, but Yuffie grabs his arm and drags him to one of the buildings before he can even say one word. He just lets himself be dragged along as he's learned on the trip to school that trying to talk Yuffie out of dragging you around is like trying to convince Axel that fire is _not _the greatest thing in the world.

"Wait until you meet my friends!" Yuffie says excitedly. "I think you'll get along with most of them just fine."

Riku tunes Yuffie out as the raven-haired girl continues to talk about whatever comes to her mind. _'I wonder how Axel is doing…'_

* * *

Axel steps out of the tunnel trembling while muttering something about 'damn tunnels'. Demyx steps out after him, just as cheerful as ever.

"Well, this is Sunset Terrace." The blond says. "Now we've got to get over to the school." He notices Axel's trembling and cocks his head slightly to one side. "Hey, Axel, are you okay?"

"I fucking _hate _tunnels!" Axel spits out. "_**Hate **_them."

Demyx makes a humming noise. "You should have told me. I would have taken you to the Station instead and we could have taken the train here." He smiles at Axel. "We'll take it tomorrow, if you'd like to."

Axel glares at him, feeling that the answer to that question is obvious. "We had better. So…" He looks around the unfamiliar part of town. "Which way?"

"This way!" Demyx says, pointing to the right. "We go toward Sunset Hill and then make a right and jump across a few roofs and then hop down a few blocks and crates to get to the school."

"And that's safe?" Axel asks incredulously.

"Completely!" Demyx chirps. "And besides it's the easiest and fastest way to get there." He says seriously. "And my friends and I have gone this way for years and have never had any problems. Well, except for the time Sora fell off a wall. Or the time I fell through an old crate and pulled Zexy with me. Boy, was he mad at me for that. He didn't talk to me for the rest of the day! Not one word!" He frowns for a millisecond before his bright smile is firmly back in place. "Now lets go! We don't want to be late!" He gestures for Axel to follow him and then starts walking.

Axel follows Demyx, wondering just what he's getting himself into by being with the energetic blond. He glances up at the sky. _'I wonder how Riku is doing…'_

* * *

End Chapter

* * *

Shiro: Ooo, lots of little subtle things to pick up. One of them's an important thing and the other one isn't too important. I wonder if anyone will pick up on either of them...

Bast: I think that someone might pick up on the important one.

Shiro: (shrugs) Wouldn't surprise me. Anyway, I just want to say that I absolutely _adore _Yuffie and Demyx. They're both so energetic! (well, who really knows about Demyx. He seemed pretty energetic in the little time we got to see him in the game.)

Bast: Energetic?

Shiro: (nods) So, any questions? Feel free to ask away! You may not get a straight answer if I feel its too soon to reveal something, but you'll still get an answer. (smiles)

**_IMPORTANT NOTE!_** It may be a while before this is updated, since my computer has been acting up lately. This is the first time in weeks that I've been able to get on and post anything. We're trying to figure out the problem, but so far we've come up with nothing. If I'm lucky, it'll work properly from now on and it was just some strange glitch. But with my luck... well... that's not likely.


	2. Chapter 2

**Pairings:** RikuSora, AkuRoku, Zemyx, and others. (Anyone want to try and guess the others? Guessing will become easier in the next chapter, but you can give it a shot now if you'd like.)

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Kingdom Hearts or Final Fantasy, as they belong to Square Enix (and Disney, in the case of KH)

* * *

**It Must Be Destiny**

_Chapter 2_

Axel hides behind one of the walls at Sunset High and dials Riku's cell phone number. He puts his phone to his ear and strums his fingers on his leg impatiently. "Riku, you bitch. Pick up." He mutters, not hearing the click of the phone being answered.

"Hello to you too." Riku mutters_. "Bastard." _He adds as his personal revenge for what Axel called him. Axel imagines that Riku is scowling at this moment, judging by the cross tone of his voice. _"What do you want and why are you calling me now? We've only been apart for about thirty minutes!"_

"Demyx's friends are frickin' psycho's, Riku!" Axel hisses into the phone. "There's a creepy guy with pink hair who carries around flowers! _Pink _hair, Riku!"

"You think that's bad?" Riku asks. _"I just met Demyx's older sister Larxene and their cousin Luxord. The two are sitting here on the school ground __**gambling**__."_

"…" Axel is silent for a moment. "Pink hair, Riku!" He stresses again.

Riku can be heard groaning. _"Okay, so there's a guy with pink hair. Big deal."_

"Big deal? Big deal?!" Axel shouts. "Riku, you've got to save me! I don't want to be smothered by flowers and pink-ness!"

"Axel?" Demyx pokes his head over the wall the redhead is trying to hide behind. "What are you doing back here?"

Axel panics and says a quick goodbye to Riku. "Okayloveyoubye!"

"Ax-" **-click-**

"The rest of my friends are here and I want you to meet them." Demyx says. "And don't worry, nonme of them have pink hair like Marly's." He winks at Axel and then disappears back over the wall. "Come on, Axel! They don't bite, I promise!"

By this time Axel has gone red in the face and he's furious at himself for making such a big deal over Marluxia's pink hair. He flips his phone shut and shoves it into his bad before he hops back over the wall, preparing himself for the meeting of the rest of Demyx's friends.

"Axel!" Demyx practically bounces on his feet when he sees that Axel is actually coming over to meet the others. He manages to wait until Axel joins them before he begins introductions. "Axel, this is Namine and Kairi Kisaragi. Namine is Kairi and Yuffie's cousin. And this," He pushes forward a small brunette boy. "This is Sora Strife! The blue-eyed beauty of our school!"

Sora blushes. "Demyx! Stop saying that!" He yells without any anger in his voice. Axel vaguely wonders if the small teen is capable of anger at all.

"It's the truth, Sora." Kairi says as she tucks a loose strand of red hair behind her ear. "You do have pretty blue eyes." She looks over at Namine and the two exchange grins before breaking out into a song about a handsome, blue-eyed prince.

"Is this normal?" Axel asks, stepping back to put a little distance between himself and the two girls.

"Completely." Sora says with a sigh.

Meanwhile, Demyx has taken his guitar out of its case and is strumming out a tune that matches the girls' song and Marluxia is dancing around and tossing sakura blossoms into the air. Zexion, Demyx's self-proclaimed best friend who has slate-gray hair, Pence, a brunette with a passion for photography, Sora, and Axel step further away from the theatrics, not wanting to get caught up in it. Pence takes the opportunity to whip out his camera and snap some pictures of his goofy friends.

Axel looks down at Sora, wanting a better look at him.

Sora is possibly the only member of the group who looks like he'd follow the rules. He's wearing the school uniform without any adjustments what-so-ever. Even Demyx, who at first was wearing the uniform with no changes, added his own flair to the uniform once they got to school. And Zexion, who at first glance doesn't seem to have made any adjustments, wears a silver hoop earring in one ear and some sort of metal bracelet around one wrist.

Sora notices that Axel is looking at him and looks back at the redhead, meeting his eyes.

"Wow." Axel murmurs, almost mesmerized by the deep sky blue. "You do have pretty blue eyes."

Sora blushes once again and looks away. "Thanks. I, uh… like your hair. It's very… red. Like fire." He scratches the back of his neck, not really knowing what to say.

Axel grins and ruffles Sora's spiky hair. "I like you, kiddo."

"I'm not a kid!" Sora yells, glaring at Axel, who isn't really fazed by the glare. If Axel were to describe Sora's glare, he'd compare it to the look he gets from his dad when he's done something stupid; not at all frightening, especially when compared to his mom's glare.

Demyx bounds over to the two, the song done and over with. "At least he doesn't call you anything like what he calls his brother." He remarks.

"Eavesdropper." Axel hisses at Demyx, not really that upset at him any more.

"You were talking loudly enough that we could all hear you." Demyx says. "And Marluxia doesn't take any offense to the whole 'pink hair' thing. He lives to shock people."

A loud bell pierces the air and Demyx grabs Axel's arm. "Come on, we've got to get you to homeroom." He looks around until his eyes land on Marluxia. "Hey, Marly! Take Axel with you!"

* * *

Riku leans against a rail at the school with his cellphone in one hand pressed to his ear.

"_Okayloveyoubye!"_

"Axel!" Riku yells into the phone. One aquamarine eye twitches the when phone clicks and the line goes dead, which means that Axel has hung up on him. "Ass." He grumbles as he turns off his phone and closes it before putting it in his pocket.

"Riku!" Yuffie bounds out of nowhere and stops in front of Riku, bouncing on the balls of her feet. "You haven't met everyone yet!"

Riku glances over at the gambling duo and raises an eyebrow when he sees that they've been joined by two more guys; one with white-blonde hair and the other with black hair that has two gray streaks running through it.

"Don't they get in trouble for that?" He asks.

"Who?" Yuffie follows Riku's gaze. "Oh, you mean Larxene, Luxord, Xemnas, and Xigbar? They've gotten in trouble before, but the teachers have given up hope of getting them to stop. They're also seniors this year, so the teachers have been cutting them some slack." She grabs Riku's arm. "They aren't the ones I want you to meet!" She tugs him over to a small group of people who are standing around talking to one another and laughing over silly jokes. The one who seems to be the leader is a boy who has short blonde hair that's spiked messily and who wears camouflage pants, a black shirt, and a forest green jacket. A girl beside him has brown hair that falls over her chest in loose waves. She wears a orange shirt that has little white flowers on it and white pants. The last member of the group is the one who catches his attention.

His blonde hair spikes up mainly to one side sparks something in his memory. Riku vaguely recalls a picture a cousin of his showed him years ago, but just as quickly as he remembers it the picture fades away. Riku blinks his eyes and looks back over at the blonde, shivering when he meets the boy's deep blue eyes.

"Riku, this is Hayner," Yuffie gestures to the first blonde boy. "Olette," The brunettete girl gives a wave. "And Roxas." She points to the blue-eyed blonde, who is now glaring at Riku. "Guys, this is Riku Firehaven! He just moved in between me, Kairi, Demyx, and Larxene."

"Hi." Olette says warmly, while Hayner just gives a small wave and Roxas continues to glare, which unsettles Riku.

"Roxas, will you stop glaring at the poor guy!" Yuffie scolds. "He hasn't done anything to you!" She sighs and looks over at Riku apologetically. "Don't take it personally. Roxas isn't the most friendly person in our group and he doesn't take well to new people." She puts her hands on her hips and turns to face Roxas. "Roxas Strife! Don't make me go get Cloud!"

Roxas's eyes widen in alarm, but he quickly masks it and strikes up a conversation with Hayner and Olette. Riku wonders what it is that bothers Roxas about him, but he decides to not press the subject.

People closer to the main buildings begin moving and Yuffie sighs in disappointment. "That's our cue to get our butts to homeroom. Come on, Riku. You're with me."

* * *

Axel walks into his drama classroom, which is one of the few classes he doesn't have with Marluxia, and looks around the room to see if he can find anyone familiar. He's relieved to find that Sora, Demyx, and Zexion are all in the class with him and he hurries over to the three and sits down.

"You left me alone with Marluxia." He grumbles to Demyx.

"Sorry, Axel." Demyx apologizes. "Marluxia's the only one in our group who is in the same grade as you. Me and Sora are sophomore's and Zexion's a senior."

Axel looks at Zexion in something akin to surprise. He would have guessed that Zexion was the sophomore and Demyx the senior because of their heights. Surprising how things turn out.

"So what do we do in this class?" Axel asks, assuming that they've had the class before.

"We go over basic things like stage directions and parts of a play at the beginning of the year and then the classes combine to put together a play that we all work on to perform in… February. I think." Sora tells him. "It's a pretty relaxed class most of the time and Aer-- Miss Gainsborough is really nice."

"Miss Gainsborough?" Axel asks with a frown. He doesn't remember that name being the one on his schedule. Before he can check, Zexion clears things up.

"He means 'Mrs. Heartstone.'" The stoic senior says. "She got married over the summer, as Sora very well knows."

A faint blush spreads over Sora's face. "I know…"

"I can't believe you forgot that, Sora." Demyx teases. "Aren't she and her husband your brother's friends? And didn't you go to the wedding?"

Sora sinks down in his seat, his face bright red. "I know! I just forgot! I'm so used to calling her Miss Gainsborough in school that it's hard to call her anything else."

Before Demyx can tease Sora further, a petite brunette woman in a pink dress walks into the room and stands at the head of the table with a gentle smile on her face. The room quiets immediately and everyone looks attentively at her.

"Good afternoon, everyone. I trust your days have gone well as usual." She waits for the usual collective murmurs of 'yes' and 'kind of' before continuing with what she has to say. "I hear we have a new student with us. Would you like to stand up and introduce yourself?"

Axel shrugs and stands up, fully aware of the looks he's getting because of the adjustments to the uniform. Looking around he notices that just about everyone in the room has added something to their own uniforms. "I'm Axel Firehaven. I've got a younger brother who goes to Twilight High School. I like fire, painting, and my Chakrams. I hate school uniforms." He looks around and then grins. "And I have a feeling that I'm going to love this class."

Mrs. Heartstone smiles. "Welcome to drama, Axel."

Axel smiles back at her and then takes his seat.

* * *

Riku is in trouble. Deep trouble. He's gone an entire day without having to interact with Roxas in any of the classes they share and hasn't even gotten any random calls or text messages from Axel about random shit like usual. And then 4th period arrives and he's stuck in P.E.

Riku curses his luck and wishes he could glare at the teacher for pairing him up with Roxas, who he's sure hates him for no reason that he can think of. And unfortunately for Riku, the teacher is nowhere to be seen. And to further add to Riku's luck, it's kendo day in P.E. and Roxas is the best in the class.

"Lets get this over with." Roxas says as he hands one of the practice swords to Riku. He stays as far away from the whitenette as he possibly can. He steps back as soon as Riku has the sword and takes his position.

The two wait for the other to make the first move and after a few minutes Riku shifts his foot and Roxas takes the opportunity to strike at him. A solid crack echoes around the room when Riku brings his practice sword up to block Roxas's. The fight picks up speed as they continue on. They soon pick up so much speed that they attract the attention of their classmates, who crowd around to watch.

Riku suddenly changes tactics, hoping to knock Roxas off balance enough that he can claim victory, but it doesn't work. Roxas notices the change soon enough that he can change his tactics to match Riku's. The fight continues on at the same speed.

"How about we make things more interesting." Riku suggests, a plan forming in his mind.

"How interesting?" Roxas grunts, blocking one of Riku's strikes.

"I'll make a bet with you." Riku meets Roxas's eyes. "If I win, you give me a chance to be your friend and you tell me what the hell your problem is with me."

"Fine." Roxas snaps. "And if I win, you will leave me alone and stay away from my family."

"Fine." Riku says before he moves the speed up another notch and changes tactics at the same time. This time Roxas isn't prepared enough and Riku takes the opportunity to hit his weak spots. Roxas keeps up for a minute or two before he falters and stumbles. Riku immediately seizes the opportunity for victory and rests the tip of the practice sword at Roxas's throat.

"I yield." Roxas mutters, refusing to look up at Riku.

Neither of them notice the cheers and applause they're receiving, or if they do they're ignoring it.

Riku holds out a hand and helps Roxas up. "So, should we start over?"

Roxas doesn't give much of a reply except for a jerky nod.

Riku shakes Roxas's hand. "Hi, I'm Riku Firehaven."

Roxas finally meets Riku's eyes, defeat showing in his blue eyes. "I'm Roxas Strife."

* * *

End Chapter

* * *

Shiro: I swear Axel likes messing with my head and getting further and further out of character. He's too clingy.

Roxas: (sarcastically) Yeah, because he's not like that normally.

Shiro: Not with Riku! He may cling to you, but that's normal.

Roxas: (glares)

Shiro: And what's with you, blondie? You're like some psychopath who purposely makes writing difficult! What was that?! (points up to the chapter)

Roxas: Riku's an ass.

Shiro: (smacks forehead with palm) Oy. (shakes head) I had to ask.

Riku: (walking in with Sora) What's that about my ass?

Sora: I think you have a nice ass, Riku.

Shiro: ALRIGHT! All of you, shut up!

Axel: What did I do?

Shiro: SHUT UP!


	3. Chapter 3

**Pairings:** RikuSora, AkuRoku, Zemyx, and others. (Anyone want to try and guess the others? Come on, give it a shot! It can't hurt!)

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Kingdom Hearts or Final Fantasy, as they belong to Square Enix (and Disney, in the case of KH)

Shiro: Okay, this one starts off in _**Riku's Point-of-View**_ and then switches 3 more times. So it goes from Riku to Axel to Roxas and then to 3rd person POV. And should I warn you that Axel is really childish in this story or is it a little too late for that?

* * *

**It Must Be Destiny**

_Chapter 3_

We survived our first week here in Twilight Town, which is a miracle. The people around here are crazy, our neighbors in particular. Demyx and Yuffie are nice and all, but they can be overwhelming when you're around them too much. The one thing Axel and I agree on is that we are having fun and can fit in with the kids here, but we refuse to say it to our mom and dad. Mom would never let us live it down and dad would just smile and get that annoying, "See, I told you it wouldn't be that bad" look on his face.

So even though Axel has been calling me at odd hours during school just to talk because he misses me and we've spent every day after school hanging out, the two of us have decided to set aside this whole weekend to spend with one another with no interruptions. Or at least, that was our plan.

Said plan flew out the window the minute Demyx and Yuffie showed up at our front door and decided we had to help them with a surprise party. Now Axel and I usually love parties and planning them, but not when we've already made plans. Of course, Yuffie and Demyx ignore our complaints and explanations and proceed to tug us apart to do different things.

Axel's hauled off by Demyx to go to Sunset Terrace, wherever that is, while Yuffie literally drags me by the arm out to the school to meet up with the rest of the group. I really wish we weren't going to meet in front of the school. We see it enough during the week and I don't want to see it on the weekend too.

"Yuffie, I was going to spend today with Axel." I tell her, even though I know she won't listen. "Couldn't you have told us earlier that we were going to be planning some surprise party today? Then me and Axel wouldn't have made plans!"

"Well, Sora and Demyx would have said something to Zexion." Yuffie explains. "They're the reason we always wait until the last minute to start planning a surprise party. Besides, it makes things more interesting when you have to set up a surprise party and get all of the supplies in just a few hours."

Yeah Yuffie, that's so helpful. Who the hell is Zexion?

As if reading my mind, or maybe the confused look on my face, Yuffie says, "Zexion is Demyx's best friend. You'll meet him later at the party. Anyway, some of our usual group is over at Sunset Terrace to help distract Zexion and to just stay out of the way. I just hope they don't make a huge mess of things." She sighs. "But that's highly likely seeing as how we put Demyx and Sora in the group. Those two just can't keep a secret."

I smile and nod, even though I'm even more confused than I was before. Yuffie has the tendency to not make much sense when she gets excited.

We soon reach the school and I look around to see that most of the usual group is there, although there are a few people that I don't recognize at all. I spot Hayner, Olette, Roxas, and another boy who must be Pence standing together. Roxas mentioned that he spends most of his free time with the other three, so I'm assuming that the brunet in red is Pence.

I watch as Kairi, who I found out was Yuffie's sister halfway through the week, runs over to join the four and then I look around to see who else is here. I spot Xigbar and Xemnas talking to some creepy guy with blue hair and an x-shaped scar.

"That's Pence," Yuffie points to the one I assumed was Pence. "And that's Saix." I look in the direction she's pointing to the blue-haired guy. "I'd stay away from him as much as I could if I were you. And I definitely wouldn't try and provoke him. The last time Xigbar did… well, you see his scars."

I shiver. I'll definitely be staying away from Saix lest I accidentally invoke his anger.

"Well, I need to see Xigbar and see if I can convince him to not pop a bunch of balloons while we're setting up!" Yuffie cheerfully says. "I'm sure Kairi and the others would love for you to join them!" She smiles at me and then skips off in Xigbar's direction, leaving me to walk by myself over to the more sane part of the group.

I sigh. It's going to be a _long _day.

* * *

"Weeeeeeeeee're here!" Demyx loudly announces when we reach a small square in Sunset Terrace.

I look around to see who's already here and spot Naminé and Marluxia sitting on a small wall beneath a waterfall and Sora and Zexion over near a rail overlooking part of the railroad system and lower Twilight Town. Two people I don't recognize at all are sitting on a bench playing some card game.

"That's my sister Larxene and my cousin Luxord." Demyx says, pointing to the two card players. "They both go to Twilight and they'll be graduating this year. And a word of advice," He leans closer to me. "Never, ever play strip anything with Luxord. Especially not poker." Without saying another word he bounds over to Sora and Zexion and jumps right in on the conversation.

Before I can walk over there to join them, Naminé calls my name and then she and Marluxia motion for me to join them. I sigh and stuff my hands in the pockets of my jeans and walk over to them.

"Did Demyx tell you what's going on?" Naminé asks me as soon as I get over there.

I shake my head. "Not a word." I tell her, trying to keep my tone uninterested. I refuse to be curious about anything that's going on today since my plans are ruined thanks to whatever is going on. Normally I don't like having a plan because plans get in the way and can go awry, but it was just a very basic and loose plan that Riku and I made up.

Naminé motions for me to take a step closer and I do, although I keep my distance from Marluxia. I don't care what anyone else says, pink hair on a man is scary as hell and when you add flowers to the mix… I fight back a shudder and then listen to what Naminé has to say.

"We're keeping Zexion busy so that everyone else can get the surprise birthday party set up." She whispers. "It's a little difficult since Demyx and Sora really want to tell him, but they're the only two that can actually distract Zexion and keep him busy." She looks pointedly over at the three and I follow her gaze to see Sora standing up on the rail and a stressed looking Zexion trying to get him down.

Naminé giggles. "See what I mean?" She asks.

The three of us- me, Naminé, and Marluxia- watch as Demyx joins Sora on the rail and nearly falls off. Fortunately, Zexion grabs Demyx's arm and prevents him from doing so. I sigh again and get up. Normally I'd be content to just sit back and watch but I figure that since it's Zexion's birthday he deserves a break. That and I really want to get away from Marluxia.

I walk across the square, ignoring Naminé and Marluxia's questioning looks, and start helping Zexion. It takes us a few minutes to get them down, but we did get the eccentric duo off and away from the wall.

"It's going to be a long day, isn't it?" I ask Zexion.

Zexion just nods and keeps a sharp eye on Demyx and Sora, who seem to be plotting their next bout of mischief.

* * *

I dully wonder how I got roped into working with Riku and Saix and then I remember that this whole thing is Yuffie's fault. Although, I could really go further and blame Zexion since it's his birthday and then blame Naminé and Sora for bringing up the idea of having a surprise party. Sora's going to get it when I get home. First I'll make sure to hide his plushy shadow heartless- the one he doesn't know that I know that he sleeps with still- and then I'll hide all of the Mountain Dew in the house and bring out one can at a time so I can torment him. Revenge is sweet.

"Shouldn't this be a girls job?" Riku asks, breaking me out of my thoughts of revenge.

I start actually reading the cake box now, trying to figure out what we're suppose to have to bake the cake. "Don't let Yuffie, Olette, or Kairi hear you say that." I warn him. "Xigbar made the mistake of calling women weak and the three went completely postal." Man, Sora's the one with the cooking skills, not me! The last time I cooked I ended up burning the macaroni and cheese and we had to order pizza!

"Is that how he got those scars?" Riku asks and he dumps the powered cake mix into the large pink bowl we found.

"No, he got those fighting with his friend Xaldin." I explain. "Xaldin likes sharp and pointy things a little too much." I roll my eyes. 'A little too much' is an understatement.

Riku rolls his eyes as he cracks open an egg and then lets the gooey matter fall onto the mix. "He sounds like my brother, only my brother has a fascination with fire and all things explosive. Although the explosive part only started after he hung out with one of our cousin's for two weeks."

"Great, a pyro." I mutter. I've had a bad experience with a pyromaniac and since then I've stayed away from anyone who likes fire more than what is normal. "Just what our group needs." As if there's not enough psycho's in our little group. We already have a loner, an emo, a flamboyant pink-loving nut, the village idiot, the preppy one, and a whole bunch of others. Now all we need is a gay cowboy and a stripper. _**Not**_

I pick up the measuring cup and brush past Riku as I head to the sink. I turn on the faucet and let the water pour into the cup. I get too much in and have to dump out some of the water only to dump out too much water. I try again and get close enough that it shouldn't make too much of a difference and carry the cup over to the bowl and dump in the water. I wrinkle my nose when I see how it mixes with the eggs, mix, and oil. And we really eat all of this?

"He's not that bad." Riku tells me and I wonder briefly what he's talking about before I remember what we were talking about.

"And he only almost burnt down the house twice."

My right eye twitches. _Only _almost twice? _Once _would have been too much, but twice?!

Riku finally gets the hint and stops talking about his pyromaniac brother and plugs in the beaters so we can get this thing stirred up and cooked before we run out of time. Why Yuffie waited until the last possible minute for us to make this I'll never know. Heck, why she chose me and Riku to do this when we have no idea what we're doing I really never will know.

I watch as Riku sticks the beaters in the bowl and turns it on. Just a minute too late I remember a warning Sora always gave me when it comes to using beaters. Well, I think as I lick a spot of the chocolate mix off my hand, we'll never forget why you don't turn beaters on high when the powder hasn't mixed at all with the other stuff.

* * *

Three hours later they have finally finished setting up Zexion's party and are waiting for Demyx and the others to bring the quiet teen. Miraculously the house (Riku eventually learned that the house belongs to someone named Marluxia and that he's the reason for the cherry blossom scent that permeates throughout the entire house.) is still standing and there have been no major accidents.

"Everyone quiet!" Yuffie yells as she runs around the living room trying to get everyone to be quiet and hide. All of those who know about Zexion's sensitive nose hope that the cherry blossom scene will cover up their own scents. It's the very reason they chose Marluxia's house.

"Shh!" Yuffie hisses. "Xigbar! Turn out the light!"

"Dude, he'd totally notice if the light suddenly went out!" Xigbar hisses back.

He and Yuffie have been bumping heads the whole day as they try and get everything set up and everyone is sick and tired of it.

"Both of you shut up!" Roxas growls. "If you two argue over one more stupidly ridiculous thing I will punch both of you! I don't care that Yuffie's a girl, I'll hit her too!"

Yuffie and Xigbar fall quiet and the lights remain on as the other half of the group walks down the driveway. The door opens and Marluxia walks in, talking loudly to Demyx. Right beside Demyx, most likely being dragged along by the blond, is Zexion. Upon seeing him the majority of the "decorating committee" jumps out of their hiding places and shouts, "SURPRISE!!"

Zexion looks less than surprised by the exclamation, although he does show a little surprise when Demyx suddenly hugs him. Riku notes with some amusement that there appears to be a faint blush on Zexion's cheeks, but before he can think about it too much Axel comes out of nowhere and pulls him over to the side.

"Demyx said this will be finished quickly." Axel says. "Zexion insists on opening presents straightaway before they eat and then he spends the next three hours trying to get everyone out of his house, which is why they're having the party at Marluxia's this year." He points to the pink haired male who is leading Zexion over to the table of presents. "That's Marluxia, by the way."

Riku nods. He could have figured it out on his own, seeing as how Marluxia is the only one with pink hair.

"Anyway, Demyx said we'll be able to sneak off after we eat since everyone will be busy keeping an eye on Zexion." Axel says. "Then we can go spend the day together like we planned! Albeit, it won't be the whole day, but we have tomorrow too!"

Riku breathes a sigh of relief. "That's good. I like hanging out with them and all, but it'll be nice for it to just be us."

An hour later Riku and Axel manage to escape from the house after almost being caught by Larxene and Luxord. The two breathe a sigh of relief once they're a few blocks away.

"So where should we go first?" Riku asks. "I heard Hayner and Olette mention something about a beach nearby. We could go home and get our stuff and then hit the beach."

Axel considers that for a moment and then nods. "Sounds good to me." A wicked smirk crosses his face. "Race you home!" He yells as he takes off running.

Riku curses and then takes off after his brother. "Axel!" He yells angrily. "You bastard! That's cheating!"

The only response he gets is laughter.

* * *

Later in the week after a long day at school, Axel wanders into Riku's room and flops down on the bed beside his brother. Riku gives him an annoyed look before trying to concentrate on his math homework.

"Riiikuuuu." Axel draws out the name in a bored tone. "Whatcha doing?"

This time Riku glares at him. "Homework. Don't you have your own to do?"

"Nope!" Axel cheerfully says, poking Riku's nose. "I finished mine at school."

Riku rolls his eyes and shoves him off the bed, smirking when he hears Axel hit the ground with a _thump_. Axel glowers as he stands up and walks out of the room and Riku relaxes and picks up his pencil to get back to work.

Not five minutes later Axel walks back into the room with his bright red pillow. Riku looks up and gives him a dark look.

"Axel, don't you even think about it." He warns as he sets aside his pencil. With Axel in the room with him he knows it's pointless to even think about getting any work done.

Axel ignores the look he's getting and practically bounces back across the room and springs back onto the bed. "Riku, I'm sleeping in here with you tonight!" He announces.

Riku snorts. "Not a snowball's chance." He mutters as he kicks Axel off of the bed for a second time.

Axel is prepared this time. As he tumbles from the bed he throws his arm out and hits Riku in the face with his pillow. He hit's the floor with a grin on his face and then rolls out of the way as Riku leaps from the bed with his navy blue pillow clutched in one hand.

"Axel, I'm going to kill you!" Riku yells, lunging for his brother.

Axel rolls out of the way again and then leaps to his feet only to have to dodge Riku's pillow. He laughs and whacks Riku with his pillow again before running from the room and down the hall. Riku chases after him, determined to get in a hit.

The two run all over the house hitting one another with their pillows and grabbing other pillows and cushions when they lose their own. When they're finally done with their pillow fight the two are out of breath and there are pillows and cushions spread throughout the house.

"So," Riku leans back against a wall. "Are you done causing trouble now?"

Axel grins. "Maybe. You done hiding out in your room?"

Riku scowls. "I was doing homework, Axel. I have to do it in order to get good grades and pass school."

"I know that." Axel says. "But you could come and keep me company. I feel lonely." He pouts.

"Demyx and Larxene and Yuffie and Kairi live right next door." Riku pushes away from the wall and starts walking back to his room. "Go bug them."

Axel scowls. "Fine." He mutters. "By the way, my drama group is coming over this weekend." With a wave he heads for the door to go talk to Demyx.

Riku mutters something under his breath and kicks a nearby cushion before he goes to his room to finish his homework. He knows that when he's done with that he'll have to go clean up the mess they made before their parents get home.

* * *

End Chapter

* * *

Shiro: This was a fun chapter. The first three parts were rewritten and put in first-person POV and I really like the way they turned out. Writing in Roxas's POV was really fun and I'm surprised at how easy a time I had writing it. Now I want to write about Roxas's revenge... maybe it'll become a one-shot later or something. Who knows.

Demyx: Yay! I got to give Zexion a hug!

Shiro: Yeah, yeah. But now you have to wait a while.

Demyx: Aww... why?

Shiro: Because I still have to have Riku meet Sora and have Axel meet Roxas. (snickers) And then Axel's _I'm-gonna-stalk-Roxas_ phase will start.

Roxas: (sarcastically) Oh joy, I can hardly wait.

Demyx: And then I'll be able to hug Zexion all I want?

Shiro: Well... not quite. You should probably establish a relationship with him first.

Demyx: We're best friends, that's reason enough for me!

Shiro: (sighs) I now know who will be causing problems for me next. Demyx... (pulls Demyx aside to talk to him)

Sora: ROXAS! WHERE'D ALL MY MOUNTAIN DEW GO?!

Roxas: (smirks) You lost it _again_, Sora? Geez. (walks off to pretend to help Sora)


	4. Chapter 4

**Pairings:** RikuSora, AkuRoku, Zemyx, and others. (Anyone want to try and guess the others? Come on, give it a shot! It can't hurt!)

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Kingdom Hearts or Final Fantasy, as they belong to Square Enix (and Disney, in the case of KH)

* * *

**It Must Be Destiny**

_Chapter 4_

Axel falls ungracefully onto the couch beside Riku, cradling the phone to his ear. "Sora, what do you mean the others can't make it?" He asks, confused. "Grounded, sick, and family day?" He repeats. "But Marluxia was just find yesterday! And what did Kairi do to get grounded?" He listens for a minute and then sighs. "Okay, but what about Demyx and Naminé? I didn't even know those two were related! And anyway, couldn't they have told us before now that they have some family thing to do?"

Riku gets up to leave the room, tired of listening to Axel's side of the conversation. As soon as he gets up, Axel pulls his legs onto the couch and drapes himself across it.

"You're still coming, right?" Axel asks. "Alright, that's good. I'll see you in an hour." He wait's a minute and then turns off the phone as he sits up. He tosses the phone onto the couch and then goes to find Riku so he has someone to talk to until Sora arrives.

* * *

I grit my teeth and glare at Axel, who is currently dancing around my room singing some song that I can't recognize because he's singing it purposely off-key. "Axel!" I snap at him after putting up with it for a minute and a half. "Shut up!"

Axel stops his jumping around, _finally_, and sticks his tongue out in a childish manner. I roll my eyes and wait for him to make some childish remark to go along with it, but before he can the doorbell rings and he scampers off to answer it. Yes, _scampers_. He's been acting like a puppy all morning with how excited he is.

I stay in my nice quiet room on my nice soft bed and start reading my book for English again. I'll never understand how Axel finishes his homework up so quickly and manages to get straight A's. He doesn't even study! Ever! I sigh and try to concentrate on reading, but instead I hear bits and pieces of Axel's conversation with his drama-class friend. I shake my head and read a sentence only to have to read it again when Axel and his friend walk by my bedroom door. I hear Axel's bedroom door click shut and then breathe a sigh of relief.

In the next hour I get all of my homework done and by the time I finish it's time for a well deserved snack. I get up and stretch before I walk into the kitchen, my bare feet sticking to the linoleum. I wrinkle my nose in distaste. Axel was suppose to mop the floor after he spilt all the soda yesterday evening. Either he missed a spot or he just used paper towels to clean it up. I roll my eyes and ignore the stickiness as I walk over to the refrigerator to get the lemonade. I set the jug on the counter and go get a glass. While I'm pouring my drink I hear someone coming up behind me and know that it's not Axel because he's always either impossibly loud or annoyingly quiet. The footsteps I hear are only soft.

I turn around as I take a sip of my lemonade, only to nearly choke on it when I see that Axel's friend is not only cute, he's the definition of adorable with his big blue eyes and spiky brown hair. Okay, so it's a guy and I'm calling him cute. As Yuffie remarked back when we first met, I can't possibly be straight. Neither is Axel. Well, Axel's 100 percent gay and I'm about 50 percent, although that could change.

"Errr… Hi." Axel's friend says. "Axel sent me out here for food because my stomach was distracting him."

I can't help but smile. I have a feeling I'm going to like this little brunet. Now if I only knew his name… "We've got a bowl of fruit over there, although I'm not sure if any of it's ready or not." I tell him. "No one really lets me in the kitchen after the oven nearly got caught on fire because I forgot about my pizza."

He laughs and I nearly swoon. He's so cute! I'm going to murder Axel for not introducing me sooner!

"My names Sora. You're Axel's younger brother. Riku, right?" He asks me.

I nod. "Yeah, but everyone says I act more like the older brother."

Sora smiles and I swear my heart almost skips a beat. I avert my eyes from him to try and regain composure.

"Axel does act like a little kid at times." Sora says thoughtfully. "But that's because we are kids. And he's nowhere near as bad as Demyx and I are."

I look back up at Sora and raise an eyebrow. "You?" I ask, not believing that statement. He doesn't seem anywhere near as loud as Demyx is, and I've only been around Demyx for short periods of time. "You seem sensible and calm to me. The only person I've heard the whole time you've been over here is my brother and his loud mouth." I tell him.

"My loud what, brother dear?" Axel asks as he comes up behind Sora.

I may have noticed him coming, but Sora obviously didn't notice him. I've told Axel time and time again to not sneak up behind friends, but he never listens. I think he finds some amusement out of being able to scare someone since he can't do that to me anymore.

"Axel!" Sora exclaims. "You scared me!"

Axel just grins. "That's my job. Isn't that right, Riku?" He asks, looking over at me.

"Sure, Axel." I say, not really meaning it. "And while you scare innocent people, I get the tedious job of consoling them."

Axel sticks his tongue out. I just smirk.

"What's wrong, Axel-waxel?" I tease. "Are you jealous because I get all the love?"

"Like hell." Axel growls.

The doorbell rings, effectively bringing an end to the conversation. Ha! Riku- 1, Axel- 0.

"I'll get it!" Axel cheerfully says before he literally dances off to the door.

Sora and I watch him for a moment before we look away. There's just no helping Axel. I wonder if Sora was confused at all by mine and Axel's conversation. Usually when we start talking like that we end up confusing people.

"Sorry." I apologize to Sora. "Me and Axel have been like this since forever. The teachers should be thankful that the two of us aren't in the same school anymore. Back on Destiny Island we tormented our homeroom teacher every chance we got. I'm sure she's glad that we're gone."

Sora looks at me with a confused expression on his face. "You two are in the same grade?" He asks. "Did Axel fail or did you skip a grade?"

Now that always amuses me. Number 1, Axel's too smart to fail and number 2, I'm not smart enough to skip a grade. I start to tell Sora the reason we're in the same grade, but the red blur that is Axel zooms into the room and drags me off to the other side of the kitchen. A few seconds later I see why.

Roxas. Oh hell. Hey wait, is that a faint blush on his face? What the hell did Axel do?

"Roxas?" I hear Sora ask. "What--"

"Nothing." I hear Roxas say sharply. "Nothing happened."

Nothing my ass. Since when does Axel do 'nothing' when he finds someone cute?

"WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME HE WAS CUTE?!" Axel finally explodes. He probably got tired of me not paying attention to him.

"Well now we're even." I tell him crossly. Yes, I'm still angry at him for not introducing me to Sora sooner.

"Even? What the hell are you--" Axel stops talking and I know that he knows exactly why we're even now. If there's one thing that can be said about Axel it's that he's not an idiot. "You like Sora!" He exclaims.

Oh jeez, here it comes. I quickly smack Axel in the head and hiss at him to shut up before he can start singing or something. I ignore his whines of how it hurts and drag him over to Sora and Roxas.

"Roxas, this is my brother, Axel. Please don't kill him, he can be useful." I say. "Axel, this is Roxas Strife." Ah, Strife. Why is it that just now the name rings a bell. I've heard it before I even met Roxas… "Don't mess with him."

"Sora, we're going home." Roxas says abruptly.

"In a minute, Roxas." Sora tells him. He looks over at me with a questioning look in his eyes and it hits me that I never answered his question.

"Me and Axel are the same age, Sora." I say. "We're twins."

"Twins?!" Sora exclaims in what has to be shock. "But--? I mean, sure me and Roxas don't look exactly alike, but we're close!"

Axel blinks. "You two are twins?"

Sora nods. "Identical. You could really tell when we were little, but my hair got darker as we grew up and Roxas spends more time outside than I do so his hair gets bleached by the sun."

Axel drapes an arm over my shoulders and I resist the urge to shove him away like I usually do.

"We're fraternal, if that wasn't obvious." Axel says. He then sighs. "I don't know why people are always shocked when they find out we're twins."

"Axel, we look nothing alike." I remind him. It's the truth. The only thing we have in common is our green eyes.

"So? Plenty of twins look nothing alike." Axel retorts. "We're twins; commit it to memory." He says to Roxas and Sora.

I watch as Roxas distrustfully edges away from Axel and nudges Sora's arm. Without taking his eyes off of Axel, he whispers something to Sora and then turns around and heads for the door.

Sora gives me and Axel an apologetic smile. "Sorry, mom wants me home for something." He tells us. "Axel, I'll see you at school. Riku, I'll see you around." He waves at us before he runs after his brother.

Axel and I wait until we hear the door close before we start talking.

Axel lets out a short laugh and removes his arm from my shoulders. "Another pair of twins, huh?" He remarks. "This is turning out to be an interesting town."

I nod and back up until I'm leaning against the counter. I take a sip of lemonade, which I just remember I've been holding this whole time, and then say, "I never even knew Roxas had a brother, let alone a twin. He doesn't talk very much." I frown thoughtfully. "It's weird, when I first met Roxas I got the impression that he hated me."

Axel cocks his head sideways. "Oh? But you're friends now, right?" He asks.

"Yeah, but that's only because I beat him in gym class in kendo. We made a deal that if I won he'd have to give me a chance and tell me why he hates me and if he won I'd leave him and his family alone." I say.

"Weird." Axel says. "So I'm guessing you never found out why Roxas hated you?"

I smile sheepishly. I was just relieved that Roxas was giving me a chance and I didn't want to ruin it by asking. "No, I let the subject go untouched since he really was giving me a chance. But now…"

"You're curious." Axel says with a smirk.

"And you aren't?" I retort, knowing that he most likely is. After all, it seems like Roxas doesn't like him much either.

Axel holds up a hand. "I never said I wasn't. Besides, I wanna know why the cute little blond doesn't like me."

See what I mean? I should just be glad that Axel isn't going to try and stalk him. Oh shit, I think I've remembered a reason why Roxas doesn't like him. "I may have mentioned something about you nearly burning down the house." I sheepishly say.

Axel gapes at me. "Riku! Why?!"

"Hey, at least I didn't mention all the other crap you've done!" I exclaim. "Like the sparkler fiasco, or how about the fireworks incident!" I bring up two of Axel's least favorite past incidents.

Sure enough, Axel winces at the very mention of the memories. "Okay, okay. I get it. I need to stay away from fire for a while."

"I don't think that's such a good idea." I say wearily. "Remember what happened the last time you tried to avoid anything involving fire? You snapped within the week and built a huge bonfire that nearly burned down our house and the neighbors house that was five acres away! Five acres, Axel!"

Axel scratches the back of his neck. "I don't remember that."

Yeah right. "Like I said, you snapped. It's no wonder you don't remember." I tell him. "Do you recall mom yelling at you about it and then hearing Wakka's complaints about it the next day?"

Axel is quiet for a moment and I know that he remembers. "Possibly." He says. "Anyway, are you going to find out why he hated you?"

I feel like applauding him for the smooth change of subject, but I don't. "Yeah, I'll find out. And I'll try to find out why he doesn't like you. Hopefully there will be a reason other than your pyromaniac tendencies."

Axel just sticks out his tongue and then sets about finding something for us to eat. As long as he doesn't make me cook we'll be just fine.

* * *

End Chapter

* * *

So now you know the one big thing that I was wondering if anyone would pick up between Axel and Riku. They're twins! (cackles gleefully) Was anyone expecting that? Y'know, I almost had Sora and Roxas not be twins since I wanted Axel and Riku to be the twins, but I'm glad I did it this way. It makes things more interesting.

You'll see.


	5. Chapter 5

**Pairings:** RikuSora, AkuRoku, Zemyx, and others. (Anyone want to try and guess the others? Come on, give it a shot! It can't hurt!)

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Kingdom Hearts or Final Fantasy, as they belong to Square Enix (and Disney, in the case of KH)

* * *

**It Must Be Destiny**

_Chapter 5_

When Monday arrives, Riku has his plan of action all figured out and things start off smoothly. He got up on time and managed to wake Axel up without getting yelled at for once and then he walked to school with Larxene and Yuffie and arrived there with time to spare. It's there at school that he runs into a problem; a problem that goes by the name Roxas.

"Hayner, Olette, have either of you seen Roxas?" Riku asks, figuring that if anyone knows where Roxas is it would be one of them.

Olette shakes her head. "Sorry, Riku. I haven't seen him."

"Try asking Xemnas." Hayner suggests. "He always knows where everyone is at."

Riku thanks them and walks over to where Larxene, Luxord, Xigbar, and Xemnas are busy playing cards like they do every morning. "Excuse me, Xemnas."

Xemnas doesn't look up from his cards. "What?"

"Do you know where Roxas is?" Riku asks. "I need to talk to him about something."

"He's in the gym." Xemnas tells him. "Now leave me to beat the pants off these three!"

Riku quickly walks away, not wanting to get caught up in one of their fights. He tells Yuffie where he's going and then hurries to the gym in search of Roxas. Before he goes into the gym his cell phone goes off. He rolls his eyes and answers it quickly, figuring that it's Axel on the other end. "Hello?"

"_Uh, hi Riku."_

Riku frowns, not recognizing the voice. "Who is this?"

_"It's Sora. I hope you don't mind me calling. Axel gave me your number and said something about you wanting me to call you."_

"I should have known he was behind this." Riku mutters, not sure whether to thank Axel or kill him. "I don't mind." He tells Sora. A plan begins to form in his mind and he smirks. "Hey Sora, are you doing anything tonight?"

There's silence for a moment and Riku fervently hopes he didn't accidentally scare Sora off.

_"Not that I know of."_ Sora says.

"I was thinking that we could go eat dinner together and get to know one another better. After all, we don't get to see one another that often."

"_Sounds fine to me. I'll have Axel give you the directions to my house."_ There's a pause and the sound of something ringing. _"I've got to go. The bell just rang. I'll see you tonight, Riku!"_

As Riku turns off his phone and puts it in his pocket, he hopes that Axel won't use the directions to Sora's house in order to stalk Roxas.

* * *

Axel grins as he comes to a stop outside of Riku's doorway. Riku doesn't even look at him, knowing exactly what's coming next.

"Riku's got a date!" Axel teasingly sings. "Aww, my baby brother is all grown up." He pretends to wipe away a tear.

Riku glares at Axel. "It's not a date. Now get your ass in here and help me pick out what to wear. I can't decide if I want to wear my plain black shirt or the one that zip's up. Or maybe the yellow one…"

Axel rolls his eyes and walks into the room to help his brother. "The zip up one." He says. "And that white and yellow vest thing." He walks into Riku's closet and rummages through it until he retrieves what he's looking for. "And these." He tosses a pair of blue jeans at Riku, followed by the vest.

Riku looks at the clothes and then smiles. "Axel, you know me too well."

"I'm your twin." Axel replies. "Now, what to do with your hair…"

Riku takes a step back. "You are _not _touching my hair. It's fine the way it is."

"If you say so."

* * *

An hour later Riku is walking down the Strife family's driveway to pick up Sora for their not-a-date. He gets up to the front door and takes a deep breath before ringing the doorbell. He fights the urge to fluff up his bangs while he waits for someone to answer the door. He doesn't have to wait long before the door opens and he finds himself looking at a blond who's not much taller than him.

"I'm here to pick up Sora." Riku tells him.

The blond stands there for a moment, his eyes wide with fright, and then he slams the door shut. Riku stands there for a moment, wondering what just happened.

"Riku?"

Riku looks back at the door to see Sora standing there looking back at him. "Hey, Sora." He greets.

Sora smiles and walks outside, shutting the door behind him. While he does so, Riku take the chance to admire the cute brunet and get a good look at the interesting outfit he's wearing. _'That's a lot of belts.'_ Riku thinks.

"So, where are we going to eat?" Sora asks as he hops down the steps. "I'm starving!"

"There's this pizza place out on Market Street that I was considering, if that's alright with you." Riku says, trying his best to be considerate. He's used to fighting with Axel over where to go eat.

"Pizza sounds great." Sora says. "But I have to warn you, I eat a lot so we'll have to get two pizzas."

Nearly an hour later Riku is thankful for the warning that Sora gave him. While he only ate about half a pizza, Sora had a whole one. Between bites of pizza the two tell stories about their family's. Riku's favorite stories from Sora are the ones about the trouble he and Roxas have caused growing up, while Sora enjoys the stories about Riku's dysfunctional family.

"So me and dad arrive to pick up Axel from gymnastic class, and the only reason we made it there without being late was because I was with him and we left early, and we see him sitting outside playing with matches. So dad asks him what he's doing outside and Axel tells him that he didn't like the teacher so he lit her shoes on fire when she wasn't looking." Riku says.

"He did this when he was seven?" Sora asks incredulously.

Riku nods. "He's always had a strange fascination with fire. We're just lucky that he's never gotten hurt or burned down the house or anything."

Sora laughs. "That doesn't surprise me. He has a lighter that he takes to school all the time."

"Yeah, and he better hope mom never finds out about it." Riku mutters.

"Alright, now I've got a story about Roxas." Sora eagerly says. "Okay, so Roxas's best friend is Hayner and Hayner has this big problem with Seifer, who you've probably met, so they're always causing trouble for one another. Two years ago we lived right next door to Seifer and he and Roxas started up this huge prank war. The only things I'm allowed to say about the prank war is that paint, oddly shaped plants, water balloons, slime, and community service were some of the things involved. And naturally, I got dragged into the mess."

Riku snickers. "Naturally."

"And so did the whole town." Sora says. "Just about everyone started betting on who would win. At one point Hayner had bet more money than he has ever owned on me and Roxas winning. Luckily, we did win but then Olette made him take us all to the beach as punishment for gambling."

The two have a laugh over that and then chat about meaningless things while they slowly finish up their pizza. When the pizza is gone Riku pays for one and Sora pays for the other like he insisted on doing.

The two leave the pizza place laughing over a story of one of Demyx's misadventures. On the way to Sora's house, Riku brings up a subject that he knows is a sensitive one, but it's a question he feels he has to ask.

"Sora, do you know why when I first met Roxas he seemed to hate me?" Riku asks.

Sora hesitates, the smile fading from his face. "Why do you ask?"

"He said something to me once, but I different really think much of it until he met Axel." Riku stops walking and faces Sora. "And then when I came to get you I got the door slammed shut in my face."

"Riku…" Sora pauses and looks around for a bench. He spots one and looks hopefully at Riku. "Can we sit down?"

Riku nods and follows Sora over to the bench. The two sit down and Riku patiently waits until Sora's ready to talk.

"Roxas isn't my only brother. We've got an older brother named Cloud. He's the one who answered the door." He sighs. "Riku, can I trust you? I mean, really trust you?" He asks, looking up at him pleadingly. "You can't tell anyone! Not even Axel!"

"I promise I won't breath a word to anyone." Riku promises, meaning every word. "You can trust me, Sora."

"Okay." Sora says. "All of this stems from something that happened about three years ago. My brother Cloud met this guy and they started dated and everything went okay at first. But then… I don't really know what happened but I do know that things started going downhill quickly. The guy was too possessive and it got to the point he was threatening Cloud's friends and going as far as following him around everywhere. Cloud couldn't take it anymore and broke up with him, but things didn't change. Cloud's best friend Zach ended up in the hospital and the guy harassed Aerith and a bunch of other people. I think… I think he may have hurt Roxas and even though it was an accident, because I remember everyone saying it was an accident, Roxas never forgave him."

"Sora," Riku gently says. "I don't mean to interrupt, but what does this have to do with me and Axel?"

"He looked like you." Sora whispered. "And he had cousin or a best friend or something who looked a lot like Axel. Anyway, they moved away a few months later and we haven't see them since." A small smile tugs at Sora's lips. "And then something good happened about a year and a half later when Cloud met Leon and then a month or so later the two started dating. And things have been fine since." He stands up and stretches his arms up over his head. "And that's it. End of story." He lets his arms fall down to his sides.

Riku stands up as well. "That does explain things…"

"I need to get home." Sora says abruptly, taking a step away from Riku. "Roxas will come looking if I don't get back soon."

The two start walking again, this time in silence. Both of them appear lost in thought and neither of them feels like striking up a conversation anymore, especially Riku.

And then it hits him; Riku remembers why Roxas looked familiar to him when he first met him and why he thought the last name sounded familiar. "Sephiroth." He hisses, his eyes darkening.

Sora stops in his tracks. With wide eyes he looks over at Riku. "W-what did you say?"

Riku stops as well. "That bastard Sephiroth. It was him, wasn't it?" He asks. "Him and Reno."

Sora looks both surprised and worried. "How do you…? You know them?"

"Unfortunately." Riku says darkly. "We're related to those two and Axel gets along with Reno really well. Reno's not the problem though; Sephiroth is."

"He won't be coming back here, will he?" Sora asks fearfully.

"No." Riku says, shaking his head. "And the few family reunions we have are back on Destiny Island, so there's really no chance of Sephiroth coming here."

"Oh good." Sora says, letting out a breath he didn't know he was holding.

"So, shall we get you home before Roxas hunts us down and kills me for keeping you out late?" Riku asks, trying to lighten the atmosphere a little. It works and brings a smile to Sora's face.

"Yeah." Sora nods and starts walking again. "Come on, Riku!"

Riku smiles. "Coming!" He runs to catch up with Sora and side-by-side the two walk to Sora's house.

* * *

"Sooo…" Axel plops himself down on Riku's bed like he always does. "How did your date go? Did you kiss him or do anything else that I probably don't need to hear about but want to know about anyway?"

Riku rolls his eyes and then glares at him. "For the last damn time, it was not a date. And nothing happened! Now get off of my bed and the hell out of my room!" He yells before shoving him off my bed. Once he hears the satisfying 'thud' of him hitting the floor, he begins getting undressed for bed.

Axel sits up, his red hair falling into his face, and grins. "Oooo, touchy. So are you two going out again or what?"

Riku lets out a growl of annoyance as he grabs his pillow and then throws it at Axel. "OUT!" He roars as he grabs another pillow and holds it up threateningly. He watches as Axel runs quickly from the room, most likely not wanting to be hit by another pillow. He rolls his eyes and then retrieves the pillow before shutting the door. After putting the pillow back on his bed he finishes undressing and crawls into bed, exhausted but happy.

The next morning, Yuffie, Demyx, and Kairi greet Axel and Riku at the front door. Before they split up, Yuffie teasingly says, "So Riku, I hear that you and Sora went on a date last night."

"IT WAS NOT A FRICKING DATE!" Riku yells angrily. He turns around and glares at Axel, who takes off running. "I'll get you when you get home! Don't go to sleep tonight!" Riku yells after his brother.

Shaking her head in amusement, Yuffie nudges Riku in the direction of Twilight High School while Demyx and Kairi try to catch up to Axel.

* * *

End Chapter

* * *

And now you know what Roxas's problem is. Thankfully we have Sora around to straighten things out and keep his brother's from killing people. Oh, and I may or may not get a little carried away with this plot later again. Again, I leave you with the ominous, "You'll see."

**_NOTE! PLEASE READ!!!!_**

I'm leaving this Friday to go to the beach, so it may be a while before I update unless I do it on Thursday (which I just might do). If I don't update on Thursday, then expect an update when I get back on August 1st.

**_NOTE!!! PLEASE READ!_**

**__**


	6. Chapter 6

Hello everyone!

So, I'm back from my little vacation. I got to go to Atlantic Beach where I got burnt by the sun, swallowed ocean water while getting said ocean water in my eyes (I wear contacts too; not fun.), and drank hot pepsi. On the plus side, I saw dolphins and got to play in the waves and I played in the sand a little. I stayed in a place in New Bern, NC and got to visit downtown New Bern. I went on a tour and got to see some restored houses, which was cool, along with Tryon Palace and the first North Carolina public school building. I got to go in the school. You wouldn't think that a school built in 1766 would be brick and have two stories. And then I went sailing and got to see some dolphins up close. They swam right under the boat. And the highlight of my trip? Eating clams for the first time in years takes a backseat to my absolute favorite part of being in New Bern;

Pepsi.

New Bern is the birthplace of Pepsi and I got to go visit the little shop where it was invented. And of course, I had to get some souvenirs. So I got an antennae ball for my car, some earrings that have the famous Pepsi-Cola script across them in red (they look like bottle caps), and a t-shirt.

Best. Damn. Day. _**Ever**_.

For those of you who actually read all of that, I thank you. For those of you who didn't, (shrugs) I don't care. **On with the story**!

* * *

**Pairings**: RikuSora, AkuRoku, Zemyx, and others. (Anyone want to try and guess the others? Come on, give it a shot! It can't hurt!)

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Kingdom Hearts or Final Fantasy, as they belong to Square Enix (and Disney, in the case of KH)

* * *

**It Must Be Destiny**

_Chapter 6_

Weeks fly by and before they know it Axel and Riku start thinking of Twilight Town as home instead of Destiny Island. Sora and Riku have grown closer and Axel has grown more desperate in his attempts to get closer to Roxas.

While Axel's attempts to win Roxas over provide plenty of entertainment for the rest of the group, they all agree that Roxas's stubbornness is getting in the way of group activities. They also agree that they have to help Axel, so they call a group meeting without either of the pairs of twins knowing.

Yuffie leads the meeting and rounds up anyone in the group who will help her. She manages to get Naminé, Kairi, Olette, Marluxia, Zexion, Pence, Demyx, and Luxord over to the Usual Spot.

"Alright, now we're all here to help Axel." Yuffie tells everyone. "For some reason Roxas refuses to go anywhere near him and it's interfering with our group activities!" She rants. "Whenever he catches word that Axel is with us he turns around and leaves or doesn't show up at all. Roxas won't say a word about any of this and neither will Sora, and I want to know what's going on!" She stomps her foot.

"I can't believe Sora's not talking about it." Kairi remarks. "He usually can't shut up, especially when it involves Roxas."

A wicked glint appears in Yuffie's eyes. "He also can't lie to you, Kairi. So if you were to talk to him and try to wheedle information out of him and if Naminé was to talk to Roxas, then we'll be able to figure out how to fix things!"

"We could just talk to Riku and Axel." Olette says.

Pence nods. "They should know what's going on too and it could be easier to talk to them."

"I can do it." Demyx volunteers. "I'm going over to see them anyway since Axel needs my help with something for drama class." He gets up from the couch and his spot is immediately stolen by Marluxia.

"You can't leave an emergency meeting!" Yuffie exclaims. "Demyx, this is serious!"

"I know." Demyx says. "That's why I'm going to go talk to them instead of sitting here and debating who to talk to. Later guys!"

* * *

Demyx eyes the cloth that Axel gave him and then meticulously chooses a spool of thread that will match and plucks a needle from his heart-shaped pin cushion.

Up on the bed Axel tries to coerce Riku into helping him work on props. It turns out that the other art classes aren't helping with props and costumes for the play, so everyone in the drama class has to make them on top of doing everything else.

"You know," Demyx speaks up as he threads the need and then starts working on the lead character's costume. "The others have decided that they want to help you out."

Axel and Riku stop arguing and look down at Demyx.

"What do you mean?" Axel asks.

Demyx frowns when he pricks his finger and sticks it in his mouth for a second before he continues to sew. "What I mean is Yuffie is sick of Roxas running off every time you're around and she wants to help you make friends with him.."

"It's not going to be that simple." Riku says. "Sora and I have been trying for a while now and have gotten nowhere. We even tried having all four of us going to a movie together and me and Sora sat in the middle. Roxas got up and left in the middle of the movie."

Axel rolls his eyes. "Probably because the two of you wouldn't shut up for the whole movie. I would have left if Roxas hadn't left first."

"We're trying to avoid Axel resorting to stalking him." Riku tells Demyx before the blond can ask. "We don't think that'll work out very well."

Demyx stops sewing for a moment and looks up at Riku, his sea-green eyes curious. "Sora told you then? About Cloud?"

Riku nods. "Just me, though. Axel doesn't know yet." He says, glancing over at his brother. He almost sighs when he sees that Axel has his cell phone out. "Axel, I wouldn't be expecting a call from Roxas anytime soon."

"I know." Axel replies. "That's why I'm sending another text message."

"Text message?" Demyx asks.

"It's part of his little plan." Riku explains. "He figures that he'll annoy Roxas so much with all the text messages that Roxas will have no choice but to talk to him.

Axel sets his cell phone down, finished sending the message. "It worked before when I got Tidus all pissed off." He stubbornly says. "It'll work now too."

Demyx shakes his head and goes back to sewing. "I don't know about this, Axel. This seems like a good way to make Roxas even angrier with you."

Before Axel can say anything to defend his grand master plan, Sexiback starts playing and he eagerly checks his phone to see if it's Roxas. Demyx mouths the name of the song to Riku with a worried expression on his fact and Riku just mutters, "Don't ask."

"I got a message from Roxas!" Axel says almost giddily.

"Really?" Riku sounds more amused than curious or excited. "Tell me, does it say anything along the lines of, 'fuck off you bastard'?"

"No!" Axel says, sounding affronted. "It says, 'stop wasting your time text messaging me, you ass'."

Riku snorts. "Sora must be in the room making sure he doesn't text anything too mean."

Axel looks like he wants to get up and dance, but he manages to restrain himself. "Don't you see? This message proves that he cares about me! He doesn't want me wasting any of my time!"

"There's no talking to him when he gets like this." Riku mutters to Demyx. "The best thing to do is to stay quiet and hope he gets over it soon."

Axel finally shuts up nearly a half hour later, during which he sends Roxas nearly fifteen more text messages and Riku gets a call from Sora asking that Axel not send anymore messages to Roxas for a while. After that Riku starts helping Axel and Demyx with their drama class stuff until Mr. and Mrs. Firehaven arrive home with pizza. Demyx joins them for dinner at the invitation of Riku and Axel's mom, wanting to avoid Larxene's cooking for the night.

Demyx leaves soon after dinner, but not before promising Axel that he'll try to think of a way to get Roxas to be his friend.

Little do they know, someone that none of them expect to help them is the one who will get Roxas to give Axel a chance.

* * *

Over at the Strife family's house, Roxas is sitting at his and Sora's desk working on homework while Sora is laying on his own bed trying to work on the script for the play. His mind keeps wandering to other things though, like how to get Roxas to talk to Axel. However, a certain white-haired male with aquamarine eyes occupies most of his thoughts.

"Riku…" He softly murmurs, letting the name roll of his tongue.

"Sora." Roxas's voice slices right through Sora's thoughts and knocks them away. "Why are you helping Axel? I understand why Riku is, since they're brothers, but why you?"

Sora looks up from his half blank paper. "Axel's a really nice guy." He tells Roxas. "He can be a little eccentric at times, but most of our friends are. You really should give him a chance."

"No." Roxas says immediately.

Sora sits up. "Well why not? I mean, you could at least try and tolerate him enough to be in the same room as him! Don't you miss hanging out with the others with me?"

Roxas hesitates. "Well… yes."

"Then give him a chance." Sora says pleadingly. "C'mon, Rox. I know you'll like him!"

'_Sora… that's what I'm afraid of…' _Roxas says to himself. "No, Sora." He says stubbornly, his voice hard.

For the first time in a long while Sora finds himself wishing that Roxas didn't inherit the Strife family stubbornness. "Fine." He practically snaps at Roxas. "Then maybe I don't want to be in the same room as you." He takes his favorite pillow and the blanket folded on the end of his bed and then gets off the bed and leaves the room. _'I'm sorry…'_

"Sora." Roxas says in an exasperated tone, as he turns around to look at his brother. "Don't-" He stops talking as the door shuts behind Sora. He sighs. "Sora…"

Out in the living room Sora sits down on the couch and begins to plot. Most of the things for Axel to try have been thought up by Riku, so now it's Sora's turn to think of something. He sits there for a few minutes, his mind running over several possibilities.

"Sora, what are you doing?" Cloud asks as he walks into the room. "I thought you had something to work on for class."

"Writers block." Sora tells him. "Hey, Cloud? Can I sleep in your room for a while." He asks pleadingly, looking up at his older brother. "Roxas is being stubborn about something and I don't want to be around him for a while."

Cloud almost sighs. He takes a seat beside Sora on the couch and decides to try and find out what's going on this time. Nothing good has ever come from the twins arguing and not getting along.

"What's going on now?" Cloud asks. "Does this have anything to do with the missing Mountain Dew?"

Sora shakes his head. "No. I already know where Roxas hid those. This is about him refusing to be anywhere near a friend of mine…" He proceeds to explain that he and the others have been trying to get Roxas to at least tolerate Axel because his dislike for the redhead interferes with group get-togethers. "And none of us know what to do about this. Riku and I have both thought up ways to get Roxas to see that Axel isn't that bad, but nothing we do works!"

"I'll go talk to him." Cloud says. "But there are two things I want you to do for me."

Sora doesn't bother waiting for Cloud to tell him what the two things are. "Thank you!!!" He exclaims, practically jumping across the couch to hug him.

* * *

I watch as Axel nervously runs a hand through his bright red hair for the fifteenth time in the past twenty minutes. I glance over at Riku to see him rolling his gorgeous green eyes.

'_Focus, Sora! Focus!'_ I yell at myself. _'We're helping Axel here, now's __not the time for dwelling on your practically nonexistent love life!'_

"I can't do this!" Axel suddenly says, stepping away from his full-body mirror. "I'm just going to call Roxas," He starts reaching for his phone. "And call off this--"

Riku and I lunge for him at the exact same time.

"You will not!" Riku says, bopping Axel on the head with his fist. "Roxas finally calls you and you get him to agree to go have dinner and talk to you and you're considering canceling? For shame!"

I try hard not to laugh at Riku's words and the depressed look on Axel's face. To avoid laughing I decide to give Axel some advice. "Listen, Axel. Things will be just fine. Roxas can be a pain in the neck sometimes, but you're on the way to avoid being ignored by him. Just keep the conversation civil and polite and polite and don't mention explosives or fire and you'll do just fine."

"And don't light anything on fire." Riku adds.

Axel groans and sits down on the edge of his bed. "I'm not going to survive this night. I don't even know what to talk about! I don't know what topics are safe!" He looks pleadingly at me. "Help me!" He pitifully says. "Please!"

"Well, you've learned what not to do." Riku teases.

"Riku." I scold, giving him my best 'shut-up-right-now' look, which truthfully isn't all that frightening. I use it anyway because it always gets people to shut up anyway. "Be nice to him. He's asking us for help, so we should help him out. And besides, I don't want to have to sleep in Cloud's room for much longer. He talks in his sleep and I keep waking up because of it!" I tell them. "Axel, the best advise I can give you is for you to be yourself."

"Just without you bringing up the subject of fire." Riku adds. "If Roxas is the one to bring up the subject, try and keep it small and don't tell him about all the things you've accidentally burnt down or almost accidentally burnt down."

A small laugh escapes from my throat. Axel has told me several stories that involve him and things catching on fire. It reminds me a lot of Demyx and all of the things that he has somehow managed to flood over the years. And thinking about that always reminds me of all the other weird things that have happened, like Marluxia and the strange plants that grew overnight at his house. Or Larxene shocking every person she got near for a week. Or mine and Roxas's ability to pick nearly any lock and randomly find keys wherever we go. In fact, everyone in our group has some weird story to tell and it's gotten to the point that when weird things happen, our group gets blamed for it.

I rejoin reality just in time to hear Riku tell Axel that it's time for him to go pick up Roxas. I watch as Axel grabs onto the sheets of his bed and yells something about not being ready before Riku manages to drag him off the bed and drop him on the floor. I can't help but laugh as Axel lunges for the bed, only to have Riku grab him and shove him out the door. Then Riku shuts and locks the door so that Axel can't get back in. He waits until the sound of his and Axel's car starting up can be heard and then he turns around to face me.

"Are we ready to go follow him?" He asks.

I eagerly nod. "Yeah! But, uh…" I hesitate a moment, not sure how well my piece of news will go over with him. "We've got to take Demyx with us. I kind of promised him he could tag along when we go spy."

Riku sighs. "Demyx?" He asks, sounding rather tired. "Did you get him to promise to be quiet? I'd rather not get caught by either Roxas or Axel."

"Don't worry." I say. "Demyx promised he'd be on his best behavior and be more careful than ever." I don't dare tell Riku that the likelihood of Demyx actually being quiet isn't very good.

"If you say so." Riku says unsurely.

* * *

Not too long later, Demyx, Sora, and Riku are sitting at a table that's hidden by a fake plant from the table that Axel and Roxas are sitting at. Demyx is busy eating, so he's not talking much while Riku and Sora are picking at their food and quietly talking as they keep an eye on their brothers.

"Looks like everything is going well." Demyx cheerfully remarks as he sets down his fork. "I haven't seen Roxas glare at him once since they sat down."

"That's a miracle." Sora says. "I mean, he glares at me at least once every day."

"You're his brother, Sora." Demyx says. "Its normal for him to glare at you. I mean, Larxene glares at me all the time."

"Demyx, Larxene glares at _everyone _at least three times every day." Sora says. "And we're not talking about Larxene, we're talking about Roxas." He glances over at his brother quickly. "What do you guys think they're talking about?"

Riku and Demyx both shrug.

"Think we can get closer?" Sora asks.

"No." Riku says quickly before Sora can even try to move any closer. "We're pushing it as it is. They're our _twins_, Sora. And I don't know how you and Roxas are, but Axel has _always _known when I'm close. Thankfully, he's too busy paying attention to Roxas to notice, otherwise we'd have been caught by now."

Sora looks a little worried. _'I didn't think of Roxas using our connection… oh, wait.'_ His worried expression melts away and he smiles. "Don't worry about Roxas. We have more of the 'finish each other's sentences/dress alike without meaning to/tell what each other is thinking' sort of thing." He tells Riku. "Like, just about every day we don't have school we start off dressing almost exactly alike and one of us goes to change so people don't get too confused."

"Uh, guys?" Demyx suddenly says, sounding a little confused and worried. "Is there a reason why they're both looking over here?"

Riku and Sora look over at their brothers and pale simultaneously.

"Oh, shit." Riku mutters. "Axel's going to kill me!"

"Maybe if we sit really, really still they won't see us." Sora whispers.

Riku is too busy looking fearfully at his brother to be too worried about what Sora said. "Do you honestly believe that?" He asks without taking his eyes off the other table.

Demyx squirms in his chair. "Guys, I have a suggestion."

"What?"

"Run! Run away!" He yells, suddenly bolting from his seat.

Sora and Riku exchange quick glances before they bolt after Demyx.

* * *

Later that night, Riku is almost asleep when Axel barges into his room and jumps onto the bed, jostling Riku away from sleep in an uncontrollable fit of joy.

"Gods, don't you ever knock?" Riku grumbles as he tries to tug the covers up over his head. "Go away. I'm trying to sleep."

"But Riku! I've got to tell you all about my night! I'm just going to ignore that you were spying on me and therefore saw most of dinner. Riku!" He bounces on the bed. "It went so well! And I didn't talk about fire even once!"

"That's nice, Axel." Riku mutters. "Now do me a favor and go to bed."

"But Riku--"

"No!" Riku snaps. "Go to bed and tell me in the morning when you're done being high off of Roxas's prolonged presence."

Axel's excitement deflates a little. "Are you sure?"

"Yes."

Axel sighs in defeat and gets off of Riku's bed. "Okay. But you aren't getting out of it in the morning."

"I look forward to it." Riku mutters into his pillow. "Now get out."

"G'night!"

* * *

End Chapter

* * *

Shiro: Axel provided my amusement in this chapter, although I can't help but wonder if I made him a tad bit too childish. He will do some growing up, though. I just have to work out the details. And look! Roxas is finally tolerating Axel! This is cause for celebration! 

Axel: (hopefully) Fireworks?

Roxas: (glares)

Shiro: I don't think that's such a good idea, Axel.

Axel: Damn. Can the celebration involve any fire at all?

Shiro: Here, have a sparkler. (hands Axel a sparkler)

Yuffie: Oooooo... shiney...

Shiro: Yuffie, you probably shouldn't to--

Yuffie: (yelps) Ouch! Shiney burns! (cradles finger against chest) Bad shiney!

Shiro: (sighs) Where's Sora at? I just know that he has something to do with this.

Kairi: I think he and Riku are in that closet over there. (points)

Shiro: Eh? (looks over at closet) Oh, that closet. Yeah. I had fogotten that I locked them up in there together. Probably wasn't my most brilliant idea, but it was better than Selphie's idea of sticking Roxas and Axel together in the library. That would be like instant death for the books. Poor books. (hugs her Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows book)

Roxas: Excuse me, I have a brunette to go kill now. (gets up to go look for Selphie)

Shiro: Oh no you don't! (grabs Roxas by the back of the shirt) I need you here for the rest of the story! You ain't goin' nowhere!

Roxas: (raises eyebrow) "Ain't goin' nowhere"? Has the summer sun completely adled your brains or have you just decided you no longer want to use proper English.

Shiro: ... (glares) It's summer. Proper English isn't necessary.

Roxas: Whatever. (leaves)


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Kingdom Hearts. It belongs to Square Enix and Disney. I also don't own _The Wizard of Oz_ or _Romeo and Juliet_. (the second of which makes me want to bang my head against something hard. I **despise **_Romeo and Juliet_.)

This is probably going to be the longest chapter in the entire story. I say probably since who knows how the other chapters will go. And also, in this chapter the pairings begin to fall in place.

* * *

**It Must Be Destiny**

_Chapter 7_

Demyx and Sora flick a paper football back and forth across the table in boredom. Axel and Kairi are too busy nodding off to care about it and Zexion is reading so he won't fall asleep. Every now and then Naminé will look over and glare at all of them for ignoring her favorite movie.

"Hey Sora, you ever wonder why we have to watch _The Wizard of Oz _every year in this class?" Demyx asks. "This'll be the sixth time we've watched it."

"Because if we don't then Naminé will have a hissy fit." Sora says with a grin on his face. His comment earns him a glare from the petite blonde girl.

"It's a classic, Sora." Naminé says. "And you should be thankful that we're not watching _Romeo and Juliet_."

Sora shudders at the very mention of the name of the Shakespeare play. "Don't do that to me! Look!" He points to his arm. "Goosebumps!"

Naminé smirks. The very sight of which makes Sora and Demyx cower under the table in fear.

"Don't hurt me! I didn't do anything!" Demyx squeaks. "It was all Sora!"

"Gee, thanks for all your help, Demyx." Sora mutters. "See if I ever help _you _again."

"Aww, don't be like that, Sora." Demyx dramatically throws his arms around Sora's neck and they both topple over. "I love you!"

"Demyx!" Sora grunts. "Off! Now!"

No one else so much as looks at the two of them. They're all used to Demyx and his random outbursts. The only person who moves is Axel and that's only because his arm slips, which makes his head come in contact with the table with a loud 'crack!'

Axel yelps in surprise and tumbles sideways from the chair. His falling sideways causes a chain reaction as he bumps into Kairi, knocking her over so that she falls against Zexion, who falls on the floor right next to Demyx. Demyx turns bright red when he sees how close Zexion's face is to his own and scrambles back, nearly crushing Sora's hand in the process.

Grumbles and minor curses can be heard as the five of them pick themselves off the floor and set up their chairs before they sit down again. For the rest of the class Sora, Demyx, and Axel talk about the play they'll be performing while Kairi glares at Axel for interrupting her sleep. Zexion continues to read, although every now and then he glances over the top of his book to look at Demyx.

By the time school lets out, Kairi has gotten over being angry at Axel and Naminé is no longer mad at them for ignoring her favorite movie.

"Guys, can you help me call the others and get them to meet us at the Usual Spot?" Naminé asks as they walk out to the tree to wait for Marluxia and Pence.

"Sure." Sora says, always ready to help out his friends. "Any reason why?"

Naminé gives Sora her patented I-have-a-secret smile. "I know what we can do this weekend."

"You know, we could just call Yuffie and she could tell the others way faster than we could call." Kairi remarks. "Who better to get everyone to the Usual Spot than her?"

Naminé considers this and then nods. "Okay. That probably would save us some time. And since it's your idea you get to call her."

Kairi shrugs and pulls her silver and pink cell phone from her pocket. She quickly dials the number for her sister's cell phone and waits for her to pick up. "Yuffie, nab the others and meet us at the Usual Spot. Naminé has an idea about what we call can do this weekend. It may be best not to try and drag the Seniors along… no, Zexion's coming. You know Demyx would never let him be left behind."

Demyx turns a faint red color and looks anywhere but at Zexion, who quirks an eyebrow at the blonde's behavior. No one says anything about it.

"Alright, see you in a while." Kairi snaps her phone shut and puts it back in her pocket. "We should get going or else they'll get there before us."

* * *

Not too long later nearly the entire group has crowded into the Usual Spot. Pence, Olette, and Kairi have squeezed onto the couch. Demyx and Marluxia are sitting on the arms of the couch and Zexion is leaning against the wall right beside Demyx. Adjacent to them are Yuffie and Hayner, who are squabbling over who deserves to sit on the ancient yellow heater. Along the same wall that Yuffie and Hayner are along are Sora, Roxas, Riku, and Axel. Sora and Roxas are sitting on one wooden crate and Riku and Axel are on another. Naminé is standing near the entrance so none of them can leave before she tells them her idea.

"Okay Naminé, lets hear this idea of yours." Hayner says. "Strange, normally we say something like that to Yuffie. Except it's usual in a tone of dread."

Yuffie promptly elbows him to get him to shut up. "Let Naminé talk!"

"Thanks, Yuffie." Naminé says. "There's this new club out in Sunset called 'Club Spira'. It's for High School students and Freshmen and Sophomore's in college. But that's not the best part. They have this unique system of using colored bracelet's to show if you're single or taken or," She pauses to giggle. "What your preference is."

"Preference?" Sora asks with a confused look on his face. "What do you mean?"

Riku raises an eyebrow. Despite him spending as much time as he possibly can around the little brunet, he never realized how naïve Sora can be at times.

Naminé's blue eyes glitter deviously. "For example, my color would be white since I'm single. Yuffie's would be green since she swings both ways and Axel's would be blue, since there's no way he's straight. Call it a woman's intuition."

Axel grins and Roxas glares and edges away from him.

"Oh…" Understanding dawns on Sora's face. "So what would mine be?"

"Green." Naminé says promptly.

Riku stores the information away in the back of his head for later. Even he has to admit that there is something about the brunet that attracts him to him, but he's not sure what it is yet. He'll find out though, one way or another.

Riku rejoins reality just in time to hear Demyx ask for Naminé to list off the colors and what they mean.

"White is for single, black is for taken, pink is for lesbians, blue is for gays, green is bisexual, and brown ones are for those not interested in dating." Naminé rattles off from memory. "So what do you guys think? Should we go this weekend?"

"Sounds like fun." Yuffie says, already excited about the prospect of going to a club. "I'm game!" She looks around at everyone else, daring one of them to say that they're busy or that they don't want to go.

Hayner starts to say that he doesn't like the idea, but is silenced by a glare from every girl in the room. He gulps and closes his mouth, knowing better than to make any of them angry.

Before they all head home for the night they all agree to meet at the Usual Spot on Saturday evening so Naminé can lead them to the club. Naminé makes sure they all know that it takes 200 munny to get in and that they'll need extra's for drinks or snacks.

* * *

Two days later at 3 o'clock in the afternoon everyone who was at the Usual Spot on Thursday is back there and ready to go. Naminé waits until she has everyone's attention before she starts to lead them out of the Usual Spot and then to the left to a tunnel with a large number 3 over top of it. Axel freezes at the sight of it and then grabs Riku's arm.

Riku looks from Axel and then to the tunnel and then sighs. "Naminé, is there any other way to go? Axel hates tunnels."

The whole group stops walking.

"This is the fastest way to go." Naminé says. "It'll take three times as long if we take the train."

"The train doesn't even leave for another half hour anyway." Pence says. "It makes more sense for us to go through the tunnel. And doesn't Axel go through the tunnel to get to and from school?"

Axel shakes his head. "No. I take the train. I refuse to go anywhere near that death trap!"

"How about Axel and I go on ahead using skateboards." Sora suggests. "That way Axel won't have to spend too long in the tunnels. I can use Roxas's and Axel can use mine. We'll be in and out in less than five minutes.

"Fine, but prepare to have your arm squeezed to death." Riku warns.

"Skateboards?" Kairi questions. "Where are you going to put them once we get there?"

"The bushes, Kai." Sora says. "Just like always. They'll be perfectly safe."

Hayner scowls and crosses his arms over his chest. "Yeah, unless Seifer and his gang decides to take them."

"Hayner," Olette sounds annoyed "Why would Seifer want your skateboard? He doesn't even go skateboarding!"

"Why would I know that?" Hayner asks crossly.

While Olette and Hayner bicker over Seifer and the skateboard, Sora goes and collects the two skateboards so he and Axel can take off and Riku convinces Axel that he'll be fine underground for just a few minutes. Sora helps Axel with the skateboard and then the two take off racing down the tunnel. The others follow at a walking pace.

Twenty minutes later they're all standing outside of the club looking at the neon sign that reads, "Club Spira".

"Alright," Sora says as he crawls out of the bushes. "The skateboards are hidden. Are we ready to go in?"

"Does everyone have their money?" Olette asks. "Remember, everyone needs two-hundred munny to get in."

Everyone starts searching pockets for munny pouches in their pockets and take them out. Roxas frantically pats his pockets and utters a quiet curse. "It's gone!" He exclaims.

"Rox," Sora says with an exasperated sigh. "Tell me you didn't lose the munny pouch again."

"I just had it!" Roxas yells, starting to panic. He starts turning out his pockets, pulling out three different keys that go to who-knows-what. "I know I did. Sora, I didn't hand it to you, did I?" He asks.

Sora shakes his head. "No. I'm not allowed to hold onto the munny anymore after what happened last time, remember?"

Roxas rolls his eyes. "I do remember." He assures his brother. "But that doesn't help me with the missing munny problem."

"Maybe you dropped it back in the tunnel." Pence suggests. "We can go back in and help you find it, if you'd like."

"That er… that won't be necessary." Sora says as he sheepishly tugs the munny pouch from his pocket. "I, uh… well, I forgot that you handed it to me to hold onto when we were at the Usual Spot." He scratches the back of his neck as he hands it over to Roxas. "Sorry."

Before Roxas can chew out his brother for making him panic in front of everyone, Naminé asks if everyone is ready and wait's a few seconds before she leads them into the club. About ten minutes later, after Roxas and Sora argue over the wristband thing and Hayner tries to convince Olette to get a black or brown one so nobody will hit on her, they all make it into the club and secure three round tables in the corner for when they get tired or just want to sit and talk.

"This is so cool!" Yuffie says excitedly as she looks all around the club. She's practically bouncing on her feet. "I've gotta go dance! C'mon, Demyx!" She drags Demyx by the arm out onto the dance floor where the music pounds through the speakers.

"Poor Demyx." Kairi says with a shake of her head. "He'll be out there dancing with her for ages. She never gets tired."

"Lets not leave him out there all alone." Marluxia says as he stands up. He holds out his hand, around which a white wristband is secured. "May I have this dance?" He asks Naminé with a sweet smile on his face.

Naminé smiles back and accepts his hand. "I'd love to dance with you." She lets him lead her out onto the floor, her powder blue sandals gently clinking against the floor.

"Hard to believe he's straight, isn't it?" Kairi remarks. "Especially when we have Riku over here, who acts completely straight, who it turns out is bi."

Riku raises an eyebrow. "Is it really that hard to believe?" He asks, recalling how Yuffie guessed upon meeting him that he wasn't straight. He's not surprised when Kairi shakes her head and giggles.

"No. Yuffie said something to me the day she met you, I just never really thought much of it until today." She says.

"Anyone want something to drink?" Olette interrupts the conversation without knowing she is. "Hayner and I are going over to the bar to get a coke."

"We are?" Hayner asks before he's sharply elbowed by Olette. He rubs his side and mutters, "Oh, right. We are."

"I'll take a root beer." Roxas says. He fishes out some munny and hands it to Olette. "And you can get Sora a Mountain Dew if he really wants one."

To everyone's surprise, Sora shakes his head. "I don't want one."

Axel lays a hand across Sora's forehead. "Strange, it doesn't feel like you have a fever." He remarks. He removes his hand before Sora can smack it away. "Since when do you pass up Mountain Dew? I thought you live off the stuff."

Sora grins. "Since I found something better." He looks over at Olette. "Can I have a Vault, pretty please?" He gives Olette a pleading look that always makes all of his friends melt into a puddle of goo and do whatever he wants.

Roxas groans when Olette nods and cheerfully tugs Hayner off to the bar. "Sora, I swear you had better dance until you drop tonight because if you are hyper when we get home, so help me, I will kick your ass out of our room and you will sleep on the couch."

"We could always make him dance with Yuffie." Kairi says, ignoring the frightened look that appears on Sora's face. "She'll wear him out. Speaking of which, who is going to go rescue poor Demyx from her clutches?"

No one speaks up and Kairi finds she really can't blame them. She wouldn't want to drag away her sister's dancing partner either, for fear of being dragged into dancing in place of Demyx.

"I'll do it." Zexion volunteers when no one else does.

Sora breathes a sigh of relief and Pence mutters something under his breath along the lines of, "Poor Zexion."

The conversation turns to the play that's still being worked on for drama. Axel nags Sora about getting everything written out so that he can get started on backgrounds and Sora tries to explain that he hasn't found an inspiration for the plot yet and that whenever he tries to think about it everything distracts him.

After a few minutes of the conversation, Sora glances hopefully over to the bar in search of Olette and Hayner. "I hope they come back soon." He says.

"Sora, the last thing you need is an energy drink." Roxas says. "Go and dance a bit and I'll stay here and guard your drink."

An almost devious smirk crosses Sora's face. "I don't think Axel would like that too much." He teasingly says.

Roxas doesn't so much as look in Axel's direction. "No." He says stubbornly. "I don't dance."

"Really?" Pence asks in a teasing tone. "Because I seen to remember that in middle school a certain blonde--"

"Shut up!" Roxas interrupts. A blush spreads across his face like wild fire at the very mention of the middle school dance catastrophe.

Axel looks curious and wants to try and prod for the story, but chooses to keep his mouth shut so that Roxas won't get mad at him again. That would ruin any chance of him getting Roxas to dance with him. He glances over at Riku to see what he's doing and to try and distract himself from Roxas. He internally sighs when he sees that Riku is staring at Sora and then nudges him.

Riku smiles gratefully at him and then strikes up a conversation with Pence, who looks rather surprised that Riku is talking to him.

Olette and Hayner return soon after with the drinks and sit down with the others. They talk and joke around for a while before Sora can't sit still any longer and tries to get someone to dance with him. Axel nudges Riku for a second time that night and then looks meaningfully at Sora, who is trying to get Kairi or Olette to dance with him.

Riku stands up and walks over to Sora before tapping the brunet on the shoulder. "I'll dance with you." He says.

Sora turns around with wide eyes and Riku shivers as a chill races down his spine. "You want to dance? With me?" Sora asks in surprise.

Riku smiles and offers his arm to Sora. "Of course."

"Okay!" Sora quickly overcomes his surprise and then happily tugs Riku out to dance in the crowd of people.

Hayner and Olette soon follow after them and then Zexion goes to rescue Demyx from Yuffie. This leaves Pence, Kairi, Axel, and Roxas at the table together.

Pence nervously strums his fingers against the table. Every now and then he glances up at Kairi, who is talking to Axel and Roxas with a soft smile on her face. He takes a few deep breaths and then tries to stand up, only to find that his legs feel like they've turned to jello. He tries again to work up his courage. After a few more deep breaths and telling himself that he can ask her, he stands up and walks over to Kairi.

"K-kairi, would you like to dance with me?" He nervously asks. He has all the reason in the world to be nervous, since Kairi is usually only interested in the skinnier popular guys at school, along with all the famous musicians and actors on TV. He's tried before to ask her out, but something she said to him stopped him from saying anything.

Kairi looks at him in surprise for a moment and for a split second Pence thinks that she'll say no and leave him sitting alone at the table for the rest of the night. And then she smiles and he swears that his heart skips a beat. "I'd love to, Pence." She says.

A delighted smile spreads across Pence's face as he helps Kairi from her chair and then leads her out onto the dance floor. Axel and Roxas watch the two go and after a minute or two they take to looking anywhere but at one another. The two haven't been alone since they're getting-to-know-you dinner and they're both nervous. Axel is afraid of saying something that will scare Roxas away and Roxas is afraid of giving Axel the wrong impression.

"So…" Axel scratches the back of his neck, searching for something to say. His eyes land on the bar. "I'm going to go get a drink. You want a new one?"

Roxas shakes his head, still not looking at Axel. "No thanks."

"Okay." Axel gets up and goes to get himself a drink, leaving Roxas all alone at the table.

* * *

Zexion effortlessly glides through the crowd of people to get to Yuffie and Demyx. Some groups he goes around entirely while with others he can slip right through the middle. He reaches Demyx in a matter of minutes and taps the blond on the shoulder. "May I?" He asks, holding out a hand.

Demyx understands what Zexion is asking and takes his hand with a smile. "Thank you." He whispers before looking around for Yuffie. He looks confused when he can't find her.

"Something wrong?" Zexion asks.

Demyx shakes his head. "No." He says honestly. "I just wanted to see where Yuffie went." He grins at Zexion. "Ready to dance? Or was that just your plan to help me escape from Yuffie."

Zexion regards Demyx with calm eyes and then smiles. "Both." He says.  
"I thought you didn't know how to dance." Demyx teases. "Or were you just saying that?"

"I was hoping you could teach me." Zexion says. "But if you'd rather we go sit down--"

"Not a chance!" Demyx exclaims, grabbing Zexion's other hand. "I'll teach you. Now--" He pauses when the fast paced music changes to something slow. He turns bright red when Zexion slips his hand from his own so he can place it on his waist and pull him closer. "Z-Zexion!"

"One dance." Zexion murmurs. "Just one."

Demyx's blush lightens and he tries to relax enough to enjoy the dance._ 'Just one?' _His mind whispers in a hurt tone.

* * *

Over near the DJ booth Yuffie smiles when she sees Zexion and Demyx dancing. "Finally." She says in a pleased tone. She scans the room for the rest of her smile widens when she sees that they're all dancing.

"Well, almost all." She bitterly corrects herself when she spots Roxas sitting alone at the table. She puts one hand on her hip and frowns. "Roxas, you stubborn ass." She mutters.

"Hey there!"

Yuffie turns her head and nearly jumps backwards when she finds herself looking right at a pair of swirled bright green eyes. "H-hello." She stutters. She immediately wants to smack herself. _'The great ninja Yuffie, stuttering?!'_ She takes a step back to get a better look at the person in front of her and is surprised to feel her face heating up.

"Sorry for coming up to you like this, but I've been watching you dance all night and--" She stops and laughs. "Sorry, that probably sounded stalker-ish." Her hand reaches up to fiddle with a braid hanging over her shoulder. "I just wanted to ask you if you wanted to dance."

Yuffie looks surprised. "Really?" She asks, surprised. All of her friends go out of their way to avoid dancing with her, so having someone ask her to dance is new to her. "I'd love to!" She says excitedly.

The other girl laughs and holds out an orange gloved hand. "I'm Rikku."

Yuffie smiles. "The name's Yuffie." She says.

Together the two girls happily walk out into the crowd of people and proceed to dance the night away. Yuffie has so much fun that she completely forgets about her plans to hook up her friends.

* * *

Back with Zexion and Demyx, the younger of the two is fighting with himself over whether or not he should tell Zexion that he likes him. His rational side says that it wouldn't be a good idea, after all if Zexion doesn't return his feelings it could hurt their friendship. The rest of him says to go for it; that it would be best for Zexion to find out from him and not someone else. (Like Yuffie or Kairi or Larxene.)

"Z-Zexion." Demyx stops dancing and tugs his best friend over toward the wall. "I need to tell you something." He wrings his hands and looks down at the floor.

Zexion looks calmly up at Demyx, but while on the outside he looks calm on the inside he's a worried mess. _'Did he find out?' _He wonders. _'Please don't let him hate me. I don't know what I'll do if he hates me.'_

Demyx takes a deep breath and slowly lets it out before he looks up from the floor to look at Zexion. "I-I…" He swallows, his throat clenching up. _'Why is it this hard?' _He takes another deep breath. _'You can do this, Demyx. Just tell him.' _He tells himself. _'Zexion, I like you. See, simple as that.' _He feels like beating his head against the black carpeted wall. _'Who am I trying to kid? It's only simple in my head.'_

"Demyx?" Zexion asks. He's already worried about what Demyx has to say and the silence is making it worse.

'_Just say it!' _Demyx yells at himself. He shuts his eyes and clenches his fist. _'One, two, thr--_' "Zexion,Ireallylikeyou." He says quickly.

Zexion freezes up and his eyes go wide. _'Did I hear that right? Did Demyx really just say that?'_

Demyx cracks one eye open so he can see Zexion's reaction. He feels like crying when he sees the stunned expression on the other boy's face._ 'Damn it.' _He fights back tears and decides it'd be best to go back to the table. "S-sorry." He whispers. He starts to walk away but stops when he feels cool fingers wrapping around his wrist.

"Demyx, I like you too." Zexion says softly.

Demyx's brain grinds to a halt as a bright smile spreads across his face. "Really?" He asks, overjoyed. "You're not just saying that?"

"Of course not." Zexion says, hurt that Demyx would even think something like that.

Without warning Demyx wraps Zexion in a hug and starts crying from relief and happiness. Zexion awkwardly wraps his arms around Demyx. Part of him wonders what they're be to one another now while the rest of him is just happy that Demyx feels the same way about him.

* * *

Back at the table Roxas is regretting not going to the bar with Axel. He tries his best to ignore the guy who's hitting on him, but the guy won't take a hint. _'Damn it, he's worse than Axel. At least Axel knows when to take a hint.'_ He maintains zero eye contact with the guy who is trying to get his attention. His gaze roams over the dance floor and he easily picks out Riku's white hair. His eyes fall on his twin, who looks to be having a ton of fun. _'What I wouldn't give for Axel to get back over here soon.'_

As if the thought sent a beacon to Axel screaming, _"Help me!",_ the redhead suddenly appears by Roxas's side. He glares at the boy who's hitting on his Roxas and casually sits down beside his blond, making sure to scoot his chair closer. "Who's this, Rox?" He asks, keeping all anger out of his voice. His eyes, Roxas notes, show his displeasure.

The kid flirting with Roxas shies back at Axel's glare and then leaves without another word. Roxas breathes a sigh of relief and then slumps in his chair. Axel glowers and sets his drink on the table, pushing it away from the edge.

"Axel… thanks." Roxas reluctantly says. "I-." He sighs. "Thanks."

A smile creeps across Axel's face. "You're actually thanking me?" He asks.

"Don't get used to it." Roxas says.

"Roxas?"

The blond glances over at Axel. "Hm?"

"Dance with me?" Axel asks, holding out a hand. "Just one. That's all I'm asking."

Roxas remains silent for a moment, his eyes flickering from Axel's hand to his face. Finally he accepts Axel's hand and the two get up and go dance, and not just for one song but for three.

* * *

End chapter

* * *

I had so much fun writing this, although Demyx and Zexion did give me a little trouble. And of course, I adore the AkuRoku scene. By the way, the reason Rikku has orange gloves on is because she's wearing her 'Songstress' outfit from FFX-2. It just seemed to fit at the time.

So, anyone surprised by any of the pairings? Anyone not agree with one of the pairings? Is everything flowing correctly? Let me know. Constructive criticism is appreciated. (Heck, any review is appreciated so long as it isn't a flame.)

**Most Likely Next Update Date**: Thursday, August 16


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer**: I _still _don't own Kingdom Hearts. It belongs to Square Enix and Disney.

Shiro: Okay, so I couldn't resist posting the chapter early. I just love this story so much! (huggles story) Enjoy the chapter!

* * *

**It Must Be Destiny**

_Chapter 8_

Mrs. Strife peers at her three sons overtop her cup of hot tea, trying to figure out what is wrong. Despite not spending much time with her boys thanks to her job, she has always been able to tell when something is wrong with one of them. She sighs and sets down her cup. "Alright boys, what's going on?"

"Nothing!" Roxas and Sora chime at the exact same time while Cloud avoids her gaze.

"Now I know that something is going on." She says. "I don't know if it's all related or not, but there is something going on and I will find out." She turns her light blue eyes on Sora and gives him a soft smile. "Sora-bear, will you tell mommy what's going on?"

Sora gulps and squirms in his seat. He looks to Roxas for help, his eyes pleading. Roxas just shakes his head and Sora sinks down in his seat and stares determinedly at his breakfast.

Mrs. Strife frowns, knowing she'll get nothing out of Sora as long as Roxas and Cloud are in the same room. She tries changing the subject in hopes of one of them slipping up and saying something about what's going on. "So how are all of your friends." She asks, hoping none of them notice how quickly she changed the subject.

They don't.

"They're fine, mom." Roxas says, pushing his eggs around on his plate. "May I be excused?"

Mrs. Strife shakes her head. "You've barely eaten a thing. And we rarely get to have breakfast together, so you are staying put. That goes for all of you." She gives Cloud a look when he begins to get up. The oldest blond inwardly groans at the look and sits back down, preparing himself for a long morning.

"Cloud honey, I'm worried about you." Mrs. Strife says truthfully.

Roxas and Sora glance at one another. Both of them know what's coming next and it usually ends with Cloud storming out the door in search of his best friend and boyfriend, Squall Leonhart.

"You are twenty-two years old and not once have you brought home a young lady. Aerith, the sweet darling, doesn't count." She looks pleadingly at her oldest. "I just don't understand why you've never had a girlfriend. You're such a nice young man and I'm sure there are girls that would love to date you. Sora and Roxas have both brought home sweet girls."

The twins wince. No matter how many times they've told their mom that Kairi and Namine are just friends, she continues to think that they are more than that.

"In fact," Mrs. Strife frowns. "I think I've met all of Sora and Roxas's friends. The only friends of yours that I have met are Aerith, Zack, Squall--"

"Leon." The twins deadpan at the same time as Cloud says, "It's Leon. He goes by Leon."

Mrs. Strife nods and tucks a loose strand of her brown hair behind an ear. "Of course. I had forgotten since you address him by Squall so often. Now, who was that other friend of yours? The one with the long white hair?"

A deathly silence falls over the dining room and then Cloud abruptly gets up from the table and practically storms out of the room. Seconds later they all hear the door open and then slam shut with a resonating '_bang_!' It takes Sora and Roxas less than a minute to abandon their chairs and chase after their older brother so he doesn't do anything he might regret.

"What was that about?" Mrs. Strife asks aloud.

Unsurprisingly, she receives no reply.

* * *

Axel lays his arms on the back of the couch and looks down at his twin. "You look depressed." He remarks as if commenting on the weather. "Hell, you feel depressed and it's driving me insane!" 

Riku glares up at Axel, not in the mood to be bothered by the redhead. "Go away." He practically growls.

Axel narrows his eyes. "No." He says, his voice taking on a harder edge. "You were on cloud nine yesterday after our night at the club and now you're laying around the house and acting all grumpy. You're lucky that today's some holiday of sorts so we don't have school. Now tell me why you're acting like an ass or I swear I will flip the couch backwards.

"You wouldn't."

Axel smirks at the challenge and his green eyes glitter. He nonchalantly puts some weight on the back of the couch, making it lean back slightly. "I would. Now tell me what's wrong with you."

"Bastard." Riku mutters. "Fine, I'll tell you." He looks up and looks Axel in the eyes. "I have no idea what's wrong with me. Saturday night I found out a lot about Sora, so that's why I was, as you say, on cloud nine yesterday, but today…" He sighs. "It feels weird. Yeah, I've found Sora cute since I met him but I honestly thought that was going to be all. And now I've gotten to know him and I actually like him. I actually get along with him, really well in fact, and it confuses me."

Axel looks down at Riku for a minute, his eyes not betraying his thoughts, and then there's a loud 'bang!' as Axel leaps onto the back of the couch and pushes it down. Riku curses loudly as he nearly falls off the couch and then glares at Axel, who is now sitting right beside him.

"What was that for?!" He yells.

"Confused?!" Axel shouts, half hysterical as he waves his arms in the air. He completely ignores Riku's question. "You're confused and that's why you've been all bitchy." He lets out a strangled laugh as he gets to his feet. "Oh this is, rich. You think you're confused? At least the one you're in love with- yes I said _in love with _because that's _exactly _what it is, Riku! At least the one you're in love with acknowledges your existence! At least he talks to you without you having to call hundreds of times and get your brother and a friend to make him talk to you! You get along with him just fine!"

"I'm not in love with him." Riku states.

"Like hell you aren't." Axel snaps. "You'll figure it out sooner or later, but I swear if you do anything stupid that makes Roxas hate me I'll do worse than tip over the stupid couch!"

"You don't need my help getting Roxas to hate you. You do that well enough on your own." Riku scathingly says. He wishes immediately that he could take back what he said, as Axel stiffens and his eyes harden to a stony emerald green. He waits for the redhead to punch him or scream at him or do something other than stand there and in a way gets his wish when Axel stomps off to his bedroom and slams he door shut.

Riku dully continues to look at the spot his twin was just standing at and then he mutters something about idiot older brothers and rolls over to glare at the ceiling. He makes no move get up and flip the couch over or to go apologize to Axel.

* * *

Namine's POV

_It's been five days since I took everyone to the club. At first things were going just fine. Everyone had a good time and got up and danced with someone (yes, even Roxas). I know I saw Pence and Kairi dancing, which means Pence finally worked up his courage enough to ask her to. And according to Axel he got Roxas to dance with him while Riku danced with Sora. Of course, I only heard the part about Riku and Sora once while I got to hear all about how great his dances with Roxas were. Everyone did, in fact. I don't think I've ever seen Roxas turn that particular shade of red._

_Yuffie even found someone, which shocked all of us when she screamed out that she has a girlfriend. I don't think I've ever seen Demyx jump so high before and the look on Hayner's face was absolutely priceless. I do hope that Pence got a picture of that. Kairi didn't look all that surprised by Yuffie's exclamation, but then again they _are _sisters._

_-.-.-.-_

I pause and tap my pencil lightly against my leather journal. I look around the cozy coffee shop in hopes of spotting Marluxia, who should be getting ready for his dinner break right about now. I sigh when I don't see him and then go back to writing.

_-.-.-.-_

_Yuffie has promised to bring her girlfriend to the Usual Spot soon so that all of us can meet her. If she's anything like Yuffie then she'll fit right in._

_I almost forgot; Zexion and Demyx finally got together! I cheered when I heard the news. Aunt Melody- Demyx's mom- and I have been trying to get those two together for years. (eight grade for Demyx and I, I believe. And Zexion was in 9__th__.) That was when my dad married her sister and Demyx was upset that Zexion was in high school and couldn't spend as much time with him and Aunt Melody and I got together to think of a way to cheer him up. (If _that _wasn't a run on sentence, I don't know what is!)_

_Remember how I said "at first things were going fine"?_

_Just like any other time things start going well, something has to go wrong. And for once it doesn't involve Hayner and Roxas and their never-ending war with Seifer and his gang. It doesn't even involve Roxas. _

_This time it's the two people I never expected to cause problems._

_Riku and Sora._

_Of course, that means Axel and Roxas really are involved in some way, so I guess I really can't say that Roxas isn't involved in it. He's involved, but he's not the problem for once. Sora isn't even really the problem._

_Ever since we went to Club Spira Riku has been avoiding Sora and dodging any questions we throw at him. Axel has been angry all week because Roxas refuses to talk to him because of Riku. Knowing Roxas as well as I do I understand his logic even though I don't agree with it._

_I also suspect that Axel and Riku had a fight since they refuse to even acknowledge each other's presence._

_Like always, Yuffie wants to get involved in the mess and try and figure out what's going on so she can think of a way to fix things. For once I disagree with her._

_Those four will get things worked out on their own. As naïve as Sora is (although half the time I think he just pretends) he can be really stubborn and sneaky when he wants to be and Roxas is about 3 times worse. And then you have to add in Axel, who is determined to get Roxas to like him. And who knows with Riku._

_Things will probably get much worse before they get any better, which is going to make my job of making Yuffie stay out of it even harder. I just have a feeling that if she gets involved things will be much worse and possibly irreversible. _

_It all comes down to Sora._

_-.-.-.-_

"Namine, ready to go?"

I look up into Marluxia's smiling face and can't help but smile back. "Yes." I say as I close my journal. I stand up and tuck the journal into my satchel. "Where to?" I ask.

"Well," Marluxia wraps his arm around my waist and begins leading me from the café. "I was thinking Italian."

"Sounds nice." I tell him. "A little expensive, but nice."

"What? I suddenly need a reason to dote on my girlfriend?" Marluxia asks in a teasing tone. "I've been saving up for this so there's no talking me out of it."

I giggle. There's no chance I'm going to talk him out of it and he knows it. Italian food is my big weakness and besides, it's our anniversary. We've been dating for an entire year and I think we deserve a chance to celebrate.

* * *

"Riku!" Roxas shouts as he marches across the sandlot to where the green-eyed twins are standing. His blue eyes blaze with anger and a fierce scowl mars his face. Roxas Strife isn't happy. 

Axel takes a step away from Riku. He has once again been trying to talk some sense into his twin and, needless to say, it's not working. Whatever it is that Riku has done to piss Roxas off he doesn't want to get involved in.

Riku lets a guarded look slide onto his face as Roxas stops in front of him.

"I warned you before, Riku. You mess with Sora and you mess with me." Roxas says.

"What did I do?!" Riku yells, his temper rising. Roxas has been fighting with him all week and that coupled with Axel not talking to him has him at his wits end.

"You made him cry." Roxas hisses, his eyes no less angry than they were before. If anything he looks even angrier. "You've been ignoring him all week! Sora thinks that he did something wrong and that you hate him!"

Riku looks alarmed for a moment but quickly covers it up. "Just because I ignored him?" He asks, sounding skeptical.

"It's Sora. Normal logic and reason defied him." Axel remarks, earning himself glares from Roxas and Riku. He decides it would be best for his health if he just doesn't talk.

Roxas and Riku go back to arguing with one another, getting angrier with every shouted word. Axel wisely stays out of it until punches are being thrown. Then he curses and jumps into the fray and tries to separate the two. He doesn't succeed.

By the time that Riku has a split lip and a bloody nose and Roxas a cut on his cheek from Riku's nails and Axel is certain that he'll have a black eye by the next morning along with a bite mark on his hand thanks to one of the other two, Sora shows up.

"Stop it!" He yells as he runs across the Sandlot. "Roxas! Stop it!"

With Sora's yell distracting Riku and Roxas, Axel is able to finally shove the two apart. He focuses on holding Roxas back, although that's just an excuse to be near the blond, since now that the two are apart it doesn't seem like they'll start up again.

Sora reaches the three, barely out of breath, and gives Axel a grateful smile before glaring at Roxas. "I told you I've handle it myself, Roxas." He says, his voice devoid of any of its usual cheerful tones. "I don't need you or Cloud defending me all the time. I can take care of myself, believe it or not. I am older than you, Roxas! Cloud being overprotective is understandable because he's the oldest, but you don't have to be!" He turns his back on his twin, not wanting to listen to a word he has to say, and marches over to Riku. He grabs Riku's arms and pulls him across the Sandlot to a bench and makes him sit down.

"Sora, I--"

"Shut up." Sora softly snaps. "I'm just as angry with you as I am with Roxas, so forgive me if I don't want to hear whatever dumb excuse you've come up with." He pulls a handkerchief from his pocket and wipes the blood from Riku's lip before gently patting at the blood on the split. He presses it against the cut, ignoring Riku's hiss of pain, and makes sure part of the handkerchief is under his nose to pick up any blood. "Hold it there." He orders.

Riku obeys. Something in Sora's voice tells him it would be best not to cross him.

"What were you thinking?" Sora softly demands. "Roxas is the best fighter here in Twilight Town. The only person who comes close to rivaling him is Seifer, whether it's a true Struggle match or a street brawl."

"Struggle match?" Riku asks, his voice not as clear as usual. He winces when the cut stretches and pulls against the cloth.

"It's a summer tournament, although Hayner and Roxas are trying to make it so there's a tournament for each season. They use these blue padded weapons to fight and each person carries an equal number of orbs with them. The goal is to collect as many of the orbs as you can by knocking them out of your opponents grasp." Sora explains. "I join in sometimes."

"Oh…"

Silence falls over the two.

"Sora?"

"Hmm?"

"I'm sorry."

* * *

Riku and Axel walk home together in silence. Riku is busy thinking about Sora and how forgiving he can be and Axel refuses to talk to Riku because he's messed things up with Roxas. As they near the house Riku decides to swallow his pride and apologize to Axel for messing things up. Before he can, disaster strikes. 

"Riku!" Comes a chorus of three familiar voices, shortly followed by three black and white blurs rushing at Riku and tackle-hugging him.

"I told you we'd find you sooner or later." The youngest one says smugly.

Riku grunts and tries to escape from their grasp, knowing exactly who the three are and not happy about it at all. He soon stops struggling. "Kadaj, Loz, Yazoo." He says in a deceptively calm voice. "Let me go _now_."

"Now why would we do that?" The youngest one, Kadaj, asks. "We _missed _you."

Before Riku can snap back with a retort, an excited yell of "Reno!" from Axel makes him pale rapidly.

"Fuck." He mutters.

* * *

End chapter

* * *

Dun dun duuuunnnn... 

Remember Namine writing that '_Things will probably get much worse before they get any better'? _Yeah, the 'things will probably get much worse' part hasn't happened yet.

Wow, this is the first story I actually have alot of conflict in. I'm starting to enjoy writing the fighting scene. Well, the argument scenes. They're kind of fun to write.

So, anyone bothered by how much Riku and Axel curse? I find it amusing, so that's why it keeps popping up. Also, I've found with great amusement that I've given the two little "nicknames" to use for one another. When you get the chance, notice that Riku tends to use the word "bastard" for Axel and Axel uses the word "bitch" for Riku.

Oh, and Kadaj, Loz, and Yazoo have no purpose in the story other than to drive Riku crazy for a while. And Kadaj is going to be a sarcastic little brat who causes most of the trouble. Reno has a purpose. It's not a big one though.

And if you didn't pick it up at the beginning of the chapter, Mrs. Strife has no idea that Cloud's gay or that Roxas and Sora are both bi. That may be something important to remember for later.


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer**: I _still _don't own Kingdom Hearts. It belongs to Square Enix and Disney.

* * *

**It Must Be Destiny**

_Chapter 9_

"Aaaaxel! Riiiku!" Yuffie calls as she lets herself in the front door with a key that Mrs. Firehaven gave her so she can check on Axel and Riku for her. She happily skips under the archway under the stairs and then stops short at the sight she finds in the living room.

Looking completely miserable on the couch is Riku, who has his two youngest cousins, Kadaj and Yazoo, practically laying on top of him while Loz plays games on his laptop.

"Family?" Yuffie assumes.

Riku rolls his eyes. "What tipped you off? The white hair or the green eyes?"

Yuffie chooses to ignore Riku's pissy tone. "Loosing sleep over the terrible trio?" She teases.

Riku's eyes darken. "No. It's Reno and Axel." He says, trying to pull his arm out from under Kadaj.

The smile slips right off of Yuffie's face and her violet eyes loose their sparkle. "Oh. Yeah. Demyx told us he was back. Roxas isn't happy about that at all. Sora has been trying to talk to you ever since they got here but Roxas keeps dragging him off to do stuff."

"We're only here for another three days." Loz speaks up. "We only got a week off for vacation time."

"Why'd you come here anyway?" Riku asks crossly. "You could have gone to bother the asshole."

Loz rolls his eyes. "Because Sephiroth is being just what you always call him and Yazoo and Kadaj missed you. You know you're Kadaj's favorite."

"Wonderful." Riku mutters sarcastically.

"Well, the others want to know if you and Axel want to go to Club Spira tomorrow." Yuffie says. "Sora and Roxas are going." She adds, hoping that will convince the two to go.

"I'll go." Riku says, finally getting fed up enough to shove Kadaj onto the floor. He stretches out his arm hoping that the numbness will soon go away. "I don't know about Axel though. He hasn't left Reno's side for days."

"I'll go talk to him." Yuffie volunteers.

Riku shakes his head. He has a feeling that it would be a bad thing to let Yuffie get anywhere near Reno. "I'll talk to him once he comes out of his room. Maybe once he hears that Roxas is going he'll want to go."

Yuffie nods. "Yeah. So, are you going to introduce me to your adorable cousins?"

Loz looks highly affronted. "I'm not adorable. I'm fifteen!" He takes his eyes off the computer screen to look at Yuffie, who notices his eyes are welling with tears. "Those two can be adorable; Kadaj is six and Yazoo is ten!" He bursts into tears and runs off to cry somewhere else.

Yuffie stares in the direction Loz ran, more than a little bewildered.

Riku sighs heavily. "Don't mind him. He's always been emotional like that. He'll come out of his room in about ten minutes and it'll be like nothing happened." He prods Kadaj's prone figure with his foot and raises an eyebrow when he doesn't so much as twitch.

Yuffie scratches the back of her neck. "Okay, if you say so." Her eyes drift down and rest on Kadaj. "What's wrong with him? And is he still breathing?"

"He's breathing, don't worry. And nothing is wrong with him. He was just up for thirty-six hours straight and has finally crashed from his sugar rush. He'll be fine by tomorrow morning. So will Yazoo."

"Okay, so I'll see you and Axel at the club tomorrow? We're going to meet inside at the tables we sat at last time." Yuffie says. "Oh, and you'll also get to meet my girlfriend." She can't stop the grin from spreading across her face.

"See you tomorrow, Yuffie." Riku says, now trying to get his other arm out from under Yazoo.

Yuffie laughs and gives a quick wave before she bounces out the door, leaving Riku alone with his two snoozing cousins.

* * *

Sora frowns as he sits down on the couch beside the tall brunet known as Squall Leonhart. On the other side of Squall is Cloud and beside him is Roxas.

"This isn't fair." Sora mutters, not looking at either of his brothers.

"That family is bad news, Sora." Cloud says. "I don't want either of you hanging out with those two, especially with Reno over there."

Sora looks up from the floor and glares at Cloud, his eyes startlingly heated. "Riku is not Sephiroth! He doesn't even like him! And the reason I know this is because I told him about the whole _thing_!"

"Why?" Cloud's voice betrays no emotion.

"Because I trust him! I can't explain it, but there's something about him that make me _want _to trust him." Sora admits.

"That doesn't mean to had to tell him!" Surprisingly, it's not Cloud who yells this but Roxas.

"I wouldn't have had to if you two didn't freak out when you first saw him!" Sora yells, loosing his temper for the first time in a long time. "Roxas, you completely ignored him and went out of your way to show that you hated him! And Cloud," He turns angry blue eyes on his oldest brother. "You slammed the door in his face when he came to pick me up for dinner! I figured you'd rather I tell him instead of Yuffie or Larxene!"

Squall lays a comforting hand on Sora's shoulder and looks Cloud square in the eyes. "I understand that you were hurt before but it's unfair of you to judge Sora's friends based on something their cousin did. Be rational, Cloud."

"Be rational." Cloud repeats, his voice strained. "You're defending them and telling me to be rational about it!?" He stands up and glares at his boyfriend. "You don't know anything about what's going on, so just butt out, Leonhart!"

Squall's face remains impassive. "Fine." He says after a moment. He removes his hand from Sora's shoulder and walks away, not looking back or saying anything else.

The three Strife brothers remain silent until they hear the door shut. And even then there's quiet for a few minutes while they all try to calm down even a little bit.

"Sora, I don't want to see you anywhere near the Firehaven's." Cloud says.

Sora jumps up with a protest on his lips, but when he sees the hurt look on Cloud's face he bites it back and instead runs up the stairs. Without pausing he yells back, "I hate you!"

Roxas and Cloud wince when Sora slams the bedroom door shut. Cloud sits back down on the couch and cradles his had in his hands.

"It went better than I thought it would." Roxas admits. "The way I saw it in my head had Yuffie barging in halfway through the argument."

Cloud remains silent and stares blankly at the floor.

"Cloud?" Roxas softly question, laying a hand on the older blonde's shoulder.

Cloud flinches at the contact, but Roxas leaves his hand there.

"How does everything fall apart so quickly?" Cloud quietly asks after a few minutes of silence.

'_I wish I knew.' _Roxas says to himself. He doesn't voice the thought aloud, knowing Cloud isn't expecting an answer to the question.

* * *

"Hey guys!" Demyx beams at Axel and Riku as he sits down at the table. "Zexion went to go get drinks, so I figured I'd sit here and talk to you guys until he gets back." He cocks his head sideways when he notices the forlorn expressions on their faces. "What's wrong? You guys know I hate it when my friends are unhappy, so spill so I can find a way to fix things."

"Roxas." Axel says at the same time as Riku says, "Sora."

Understanding dawns on Demyx's face. "Oh, you guys miss Roxas and Sora. Y'know, I wonder where they're at. I haven't seen either of them today. And Yuffie vanished the minute we got in here, so I guess we won't be meeting her mysterious girlfriend until later. Hey, you don't suppose--"

Axel and Riku look at Zexion with twin thankful expressions on their faces, relieved that he has shut Demyx up.

Demyx chews the piece of fruit that Zexion stuck in his mouth and then swallows before he looks up at his boyfriend. "Zex-i-on!" He whines. "That was rude!"

Zexion bends down and briefly kisses Demyx on the lips. "Better?" He asks, blue-gray eyes mischievous.

Demyx looks thoughtful and ignores Axel who is pretending to gag at the mushiness of it all.

"I don't know." The tall blond says with a hint of a smirk on his face. "Do it again and I'll pay extra-close attention."

Zexion chuckles and leans down for another kiss, this time deepening it until he has Demyx whimpering and Riku and Axel throwing Chex Mix at him.

Demyx continues to ignore them and pulls Zexion down onto his lap. "Much better." He whispers in a dazed but content tone.

"You two are going to be banned from this table." Axel mutters. "You're defiling it with all your… togetherness."

Demyx just laughs and hugs Zexion, who leans back against the blond.

"Does anyone know the name of Yuffie's girlfriend." Riku asks, needing the change of subject. Demyx and Zexion's 'togetherness' is starting to bother him.

"No idea." Demyx says. "I don't even know one thing about here. Yuffie's been unusually quiet about her. I mean, the last time she had a date was back when she blackmailed Vincent into it and she couldn't shut up about that for weeks."

Riku raises an eyebrow. "Isn't 'Vincent' a guy's name?"

"She's bi, remember." Demyx replies. "Anyway, how's life with the cousins?"

"Horrific." Riku mutters. "They won't leave me alone long enough to go to the bathroom." He sighs. "Not to be rude or anything, but I'm not in the mood for this tonight. I'll see you guys later." He gets up and sticks his hands in his pockets as he walks out of Club Spira and heads slowly for home.

On a whim, he takes the long way home so that he can walk past Sora's house. He keeps his head down and doesn't pay any attention to anything other than street signs.

"Hey, you!"

Riku looks up to see a tall brunet walking over to him. He stops walking to see what he wants.

It's Squall.

"Are you Axel or Riku?" He asks, stopping right in front of Riku. He crosses his arms over his chest and waits for an answer.

"Riku. Who are you?" He asks, mirroring Squall's stance.

"Squall Leonhart; Cloud's boyfriend. Call me Leon."

Riku looks confused for a moment. "Cloud? Oh, you mean Sora and Roxas's brother. Well what do you want?"

"I want you to go talk to Cloud. I tried to help Sora defend you and Cloud decided that because of that I'm on your side and against him." Squall says.

"How is this my problem?" Riku asks coolly. On the inside his brain is working overtime to keep his sentences strung together in a normal order. Squall can be very intimidating when he wants to be.

"I did it for Sora, not you. And just so you know, when Sora's brothers aren't happy then Sora isn't happy. I suggest you try to fix the problem." Squall uncrosses his arms and walks past Riku. "And also, if you don't do something to fix this mess I will personally make your life a living hell."

Riku gulps at the calm, matter-of-fact tone that Squall uses and wills his feet to start walking again. "Damn…" He mutters under his breath. "And I'll be damned if I don't find some way to blame this mess on Axel once this is over with."

Nearly a half hour later Riku finds himself standing outside the front door of the Strife's house. He takes a deep breath in an effort to calm the butterflies in his stomach and then rings the doorbell.

Moments later the door is answered by a petit young woman with long brown hair and gentle green eyes. She smiles at him and invites him in. "You're Riku, right?" She asks. "Sora talks about you a lot and your brother has mentioned you a few times."

Riku blinks. He wasn't expecting that. "You know my brother?" He asks. In the back of his mind he wonders why she's answering the door. She doesn't really project the feeling of being a member of the Strife family.

She nods. "I'm his drama teacher." She holds out a hand. "I'm Aerith Heartstone."

"Oh!" Riku gives her a hesitant smile and shakes her hand. "Nice to meet you." He lets his hand fall back to his side and resists the urge to shove his hands back into his pocket or fiddle with the zipper on said pocket. "Is Cloud around? I need to talk to him."

Aerith's smile falters and she nods. "He's in the living room with my husband. I take it Leon bullied you into coming over and talking to him?"

All Riku can do is nod. 'How does she know? Is she psychic or something' He mentally smacks himself. 'Shut up, self.'

Aerith laughs at his reaction. "I know my friends well and I'm more than used to Leon's ways. He's very protective of Cloud, just not in a possessive way." She lays a hand on his shoulder. "Be careful with how you word things and try not to mention Sephiroth's name more than once."

"That's fine. I refer to him as 'the asshole' anyway." Riku says.

A hint of a smile tugs at Aerith's lips. "I'm sure he'll appreciate that." She removes her hand and gestures for Riku for follow her to the living room. When the two enter the room, Zack stands up and runs a hand through his black hair. He looks over at Aerith and shrugs before his eyes land on Riku. He looks back at Aerith questioningly and takes notice of her silent gestures to the door.

"I'll see you tomorrow at work, Cloud. You need to come in earlier tomorrow morning to help unload." Zack says before he walks around the couch to Aerith.

"Bye, Cloud." Aerith says in her usual soft, sweet tone. "I hope you and Leon make up soon."

As the happy couple walks to the front door, Aerith whispers, "Good luck" to Riku and Zack gives him a little push toward the couch.

And then they're gone and there is no one to stop Cloud from murdering Riku.

A thousand words race through Riku's head as he approaches Cloud, most of them being a creative mixture of swear words combined with other words. He stops in front of the older man and clears his throat.

Cloud doesn't so much as move to look up at him. "What do you want?" He asks hoarsely.

"I came here to talk to you." Riku says, hoping he sounds braver and more confident than how he feels. "You don't like me."

"And for good reason." Cloud croaks.

"No." Riku snaps. He takes a moment to tap down his rising temper. "I am not Sephiroth." (Cloud flinches at the name.) "I could care less about that asshole and as far as I'm concerned he's no family to me. You think what he did to you was bad? Hell, at least you didn't have to grow up with him. How would you feel if you had an older family member who got praised for everything he did and who everyone thought the world of when you knew how horrible he was. That's what I grew up with. Every time family got together I heard nothing but praise for that asshole and whenever I tried to tell them of the wrong he did I was the one who got in trouble. I can only imagine how Reno felt being his brother. Damn it." He runs a hand through his hair. "This isn't coming out like I meant it to. I'm sure you have your own share of asshole stories to tell."

Cloud can't help but dryly chuckle, finding Riku's nickname for Sephiroth funnier than he should. He weakly lifts his head up and Riku frowns when he sees how red his eyes are.

"I see why Sora likes you." Cloud says hoarsely. He takes a good look at the silver-haired teen and sighs tiredly. "You really aren't a thing like him."

"No, I'm not." Riku agrees.

Cloud stands up and stiffly walks past Riku. "Sora's upstairs in his room. Or he should be."

Riku watches Cloud leave the house without another word and then looks around for the stairs. As he walks up the stairs he wonders what Cloud meant by, "Or he should be." Surely Sora hasn't snuck out of the house before.

He gets his answer once he gets to the upstairs hallway and finds a brass plate on the first door on the right that reads, "Sora and Roxas". Riku finds great amusement in the "Keep Out Or Else" sign, which he assumes is something Roxas chose.

"Sora?" He asks, knocking on the door. "I'm coming in." He slowly opens the door and when he doesn't get a reply he steps into the room. "Sora?" He asks again, this time looking around. His eyes land on a picture on the desk and he walks across the room to get a better look. He smiles when he sees that it's a picture of Roxas, Sora, and Cloud from a few years back. Roxas and Sora look even more alike in the picture and Cloud looks like a blonde Sora. Riku guesses that Roxas and Sora are around eleven in the picture that that Cloud is sixteen or seventeen.

"They look happy." He murmurs. "It must have been before Sephiroth got to them." He traces his finger over the frame briefly and then steps back to look around the room. With there being no sign of Sora in the room, Riku guesses that he escaped out the window, which he just notices is open. He chuckles. "Sora, you're just full of surprises."

* * *

Cloud briskly walks up the stairs of the apartment complex that Squall lives at. On the third floor he gets off the stairway and goes down the hall in search of room 32. When he reaches it he knocks loudly and continually on the door. "Squall Leonhart, open this door now!" He yells, his voice breaking up a little.

He stops knocking and takes a step back when the door is yanked open and he finds himself looking up at a very unhappy Squall.

"Cloud." Squall says, crossing his arms over his chest. Inwardly he cheers in a very happy manner. "This is a surprise."

"I'm sorry." Cloud says, still sounding hoarse. "You were right. I was being irrational about Riku."

Squall looks down at him for a minute as if contemplating whether Cloud is being serious or not. Then he steps aside. "Come in." He says.

Cloud steps inside the room and once the door is shut he finds himself in a tight embrace. Squall has never been one for public displays of affection, so it's no wonder he waited until Cloud got in his room before hugging him.

"I would never choose someone else over you." Squall whispers. "You know that."

"I know." Cloud whispers back.

* * *

Axel trudges up Sunset Hill all by himself, hoping to have some alone time to sit and study the sunset for a painting he wants to do. His plans go out the window when he sees the lone figure leaning against the railing. He takes a deep breath and slowly lets it out before he walks over to join the person. He doesn't even look at him as he leans against the rail and says, "Hello, Roxas."

* * *

End Chapter

* * *

Shiro: Oooo! Lots got accomplished this chapter! And could this be the end of the feuding between the two sets of twins? It's quite possible. I don't even know since I haven't gotten too far in planning. I do have a goal for this story, though.

Roxas: (sarcastically) Oh _goody_, a goal. Exactly how long are you going to torment us.

Shiro: Much longer if you don't sh--

Damian: (covers Shiro's mouth with his hand) Pay her no attention. It's getting late and she's tired.

Shiro: (shoves Damian's hand away) I am not! It's only a little after 10 pm! I'm perfectly awake!

Bast: You know, I don't think your readers of this story have ever gotten introduced to us. Well, not unless they've read some of your other stories.

Shiro: (groans) Oh goddess, no. There will be no introductions! Save it for the profile page!

Bast: Fine then. (steals the computer to update the profile page)

Shiro: (whines) Baaaasssst!


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer**: I _still _don't own Kingdom Hearts. It belongs to Square Enix and Disney.

* * *

**It Must Be Destiny**

_Chapter 10_

Roxas looks over at Axel in surprise. Sunset Hill is the last place he expected to run into the redhead. "What are you doing here? I thought you went to the club with the others."

"It's not as fun without you there." Axel says truthfully.

Roxas narrows his eyes. "I don't know what kind of game you're trying to play, Firehaven, but I want you and your brother to stay away from me and my family. Especially Sora."

"If you would actually pay attention to Sora you'd see that trying to keep him away from friends hurts him more than it helps him!" Axel snaps, finally fed up with Roxas's defensive attitude. "If Sora doesn't want to talk to me and Riku anymore then fine. But I want to hear it from him and not from anyone else!"

Roxas pushes away from the rail and starts to leave Sunset Hill. "You don't know anything!" He yells.

Axel grabs his arm firmly, but at the same time gently enough to not hurt him. "Maybe I would if someone would explain to me what the hell is going on. It seems like I'm the only one out of the loop and at first that was just fine, but now things are getting serious. So," He loosens his hold on Roxas's arm. "Care to explain to me why you're pushing me and Riku away all of a sudden?"

Roxas wrenches his arm from Axel's grip and after a minute or two passes he sighs and leans up against the rail again. "It's… complicated." He says, his voice barely above a whisper.

"I have all night to listen." Axel says.

Roxas is silent once again and then he dives right into the tale of how Sephiroth hurt Cloud and scarred each of them in some way. Axel listens patiently and doesn't once interrupt him.

"So now you know." Roxas says. "That's the big Strife brothers secret."

Axel sighs. "I've always known he was an asshole, but for him to have done something like this… Damn. I don't know what to say, Roxas. I mean, I can understand why you wouldn't like Reno either, but he really isn't anything like Sephiroth. In fact, I don't think I've ever met two brothers who were more different than those two. The main reason I used to always hang out with Reno was so we could stay away from Sephiroth."

"It doesn't matter anymore. He's gone and he's never coming back here." Roxas says.

Axel says nothing more on the subject and neither does Roxas.

* * *

Riku slowly makes his way back home, this time hoping to run into Sora along the way. By the time he gets home he's given up on seeing the little brunet and is instead preparing himself for a long night of dealing with the trio and Reno.

He opens the door with his key and walks under the archway under the stairs. That's when he glances into the living room and stops in his tracks.

There on the couch sits Reno, who is talking to a certain brunet with spiky brown hair. Both of them have broad smiles on their faces and occasionally they laugh at something the other says.

Riku takes a step forward and loudly clears his throat to get their attention. "Sora, what are you doing here?"

* * *

Kairi collapses in a fit of giggles into her chair at the table and a chuckling Pence takes a seat right beside her.

"That was amazing, Pence!" Kairi breathlessly says. "I had no idea that you could dance like that!"

"I'm just full of surprises." Pence says with a wink.

Kairi laughs. "Yes, you are."

"Kairi! Pence!" Olette hurries over to the table with a bright smile on her face. "Yuffie's getting ready to introduce her girlfriend to us! What do you think she'll be like?"

"Knowing Yuffie, it's either someone dark and mysterious or someone exactly like her." Kairi says knowingly.

Hayner joins them, appearing to be in a rather sour mood if the glare he shoots at Olette is any indication. He takes a seat beside Pence without saying a word. Olette ignores him and sits down beside Kairi.

"Hi guys!" Demyx beams, which effectively clears up the tension Hayner brought with him. He literally bounces over to the table with Zexion in tow. "Is this exciting or what! We finally get to meet Yuffie's very first girlfriend!"

Zexion pulls out the chair beside Olette so that Demyx can sit down and then tries to sit down in the chair next to his. Unsurprisingly, Zexion finds himself in Demyx's lap for the second time that evening. "Demyx!" He hisses.

Demyx smiles charmingly and wraps his arms around Zexion. "If you think for one second that you're sitting anywhere else then you've got another thing coming."

Zexion rolls his eyes but makes no effort to move.

"Marluxia! Slow down!"

Everyone at the table turns to look when they hear Naminé's joyful squeal. Kairi holds back a laugh when she sees that Marluxia is giving Naminé a piggy back ride to the table.

Marluxia helps Namine down once they get to the table and is extra careful of her brightly colored wrap skirt. Then he pulls out a chair for her and waits for her to sit down before he sits down in the remaining chair beside her.

"Anyone seen Yuffie yet?" Marluxia asks, sounding out of breath.

"I have." Olette speaks up. "She'll be over here any minute. She's probably waiting for the others to get over here."

"But Riku and Axel left and Sora and Roxas never showed up." Demyx says.

"I'm sure that Yuffie already knows." Larxene remarks as she joins them. She smirks at Demyx, who shies away. "So when were you going to tell me about this place?"

"I'm sorry, Larxene." Naminé apologizes. "I didn't think you'd be interested in joining us."

"I'm more… shocked," The blonde taps her brother on the arm and he jumps when an arc of blue energy jumps from her finger to his arm. She ignores him as he rubs his arm. "I'm more surprised that Demyx didn't blab." She finally says. "Now, I'll see you kiddies later. I see a hot brunet over there who I'd like to get to know better." She stalks away with a predatorily smirk that makes Demyx shudder.

"I hate it when she shocks me. It always hurts more than usual." Demyx mutters.

"Hello, hello!"

Everyone looks up in surprise when Yuffie runs up to the table all by herself.

"Where's your girlfriend, Yuffie?" Marluxia asks. "We're all dying to meet her!"

Yuffie smiles, happy that her friends are so supportive of her. "She's coming. She had to talk to her cousin about something so she'll be over in a minute. And before I forget, I have to ask if any of you have any problems with the Al Bhed people."

"Well, my mom doesn't particularly like them, but I've never met one so I won't judge." Olette says.

"Good." Yuffie says, choosing not to elaborate on the subject. She turns around to look for her girlfriend and waves her arms energetically when she sees her. "Ri! Over here!" She yells.

"Holy shit." Hayner says when he sees who Yuffie's girlfriend is. "I know her! That's Rikku Bakali!"

Olette's eyes widen. "You're kidding! Rikku from third grade? The little bookworm who wore those big glasses and always had her hair braided?"

Hayner nods. "I'm sure of it. Damn, she's hot now." He either doesn't notice or is ignoring the deadly glare sent his way by Olette.

"Riiiiiikkuuuu!" Yuffie happily yells as she runs forward to give her girlfriend a hug.

Rikku giggles as Yuffie nearly runs her over. "Yuffie, I just saw you five minutes ago!" She exclaims, sounding more amused than annoyed.

"So?" Yuffie asks, slipping her hand into Rikku's. "Come on, you've got to meet my friends." She leads her over to the table with a big smile on her face. "Everyone, this is my girlfriend Rikku! Rikku, these are my friends. That's Demyx and his boyfriend Zexion, that's Marluxia and the blonde girl beside him is his girlfriend Naminé, oh and that's Hayner and Pence and Olette, and finally is my baby sister Kairi."

"I'm only a year younger." Kairi complains. "You can't call me your baby sister."

"Okay, that's my year-younger-sister-Kairi-who-is-definitely-not-a-baby." Yuffie amends. "And we're missing four of our boys, so I guess you'll have to meet them later."

"That's okay." Rikku says. "Maybe meeting them a few at a time is a good thing." She grabs a chair from a nearby table and pushes it between Demyx and Zexion and Namine. She sits down, pulling Yuffie with her. "So," She begins, her green eyes sparkling happily. "Do you guys like the club?"

"It's great!" Namine gushes. "This is just what we've been needing around here!"

"Glad you think so. I have to say, my idea of using bracelets is a wonderful addition." Rikku says.

Namine nods enthusiastically. "Yes, it--" She cuts herself off and looks at Rikku in shock. "Your idea?" She squeaks. "You know the owner?!"

Rikku laughs at Namine's reaction. "See that girl with brown hair who serves the drinks and food? The one talking to the tall girl in black leather? That's my cousin Yuna. She's the owner of the place. And the girl she's talking to is Paine who serves as our bouncer."

Namine looks like she's on Cloud 9. "So cool."

Marluxia doesn't look at all bothered that Namine isn't paying the least bit of attention to him. If anything he's amused by her childish delight when it comes to the club. It's not often that she gets so excited about something. He smiles and sits back to watch her animatedly chat with Rikku.

* * *

"Riku!" Sora exclaims with a bright smile on his face. "Hi! I came over here looking for you but Reno said you went out for a while. He asked me if I wanted to wait inside and I couldn't say no. I never knew how cool Reno was! I wish we had hung out before he moved." He looks over at Reno. "Why don't you move back? I bet Axel would love that! And then when he and Roxas fight you'll be there to cheer him up, because he and Roxas fight all the time although I don't know why. I think Roxas would like him if he gave him the chance, but maybe that's part of the problem. Roxas has trust problems. But then, so does Cloud." He looks back over at Riku. "What do you think, Riku? Reno moving back is a great idea, right?"

Riku looks from Sora to Reno and then back to Sora before he glares at Reno. "What did you feed him?"

"Nothing." Reno says lazily. "Although he did find a Vault and a Mountain Dew in the fridge and decided to mix the two together."

Riku sighs and kicks off his shoes. "Come on, Sora. Lets go up to my room. Or Axel's, depending on which room Kadaj and Yazoo are in."

"They're in Axel's room." Reno says helpfully. "Loz is in there too."

"Thanks." Riku says before gesturing for Sora to follow him up the stairs. He turns around and take the stairs two at a time.

As they walk down the hallway, Sora peers in interest over the banister.

"I didn't notice last time I was over that this is a loft." Sora remarks.

"We didn't know about it either until Kadaj and Yazoo broke the plastic sliding wall the last people put over it." Riku tells him. "We still don't know what they were doing to break it, and I don't really think I want to know."

He stops to open his door and looks carefully in it for any sign of the trio. He breathes a sigh of relief when he finds that Reno was telling the truth about them being in Axel's room. He pushes the door all the way open and invites Sora in.

"Cool…" Sora says in awe as he looks around Riku's room.

Riku's done quite a bit of work on the room since he's moved in. The previous earth brown carpet has been replaced by a light sand-colored shade and the lower part of the wall has been painted to look like sand and even has a rough texture. Where the painted sand ends a painted ocean begins in the lightest shades of blue and darkens until it reaches the horizon where it darkens to almost black before changing to a clear blue sky that continues across the ceiling.

All around the room are signs of the beach; from a simple sand dollar to a potted palm tree that sets in front of the window. Sora half expects to hear the roar of the ocean and breath in the smell of the salty ocean air.

Sora steps closer to the wall and gently runs his fingers over the waves. "This is awesome." He turns to face Riku. "Did you do this?"

Riku shifts uncomfortably. "Most of it. Axel helped me with the waves." He says.

"Axel never mentioned that you paint too." Sora says, amazed.

"We took classes together when we were younger." Riku explains. "I had a knack for it, but it wasn't something I really enjoyed. Just like how Axel is good at sports but doesn't enjoy it."

Sora walks slowly around the room, occasionally stopping to run a finger over a shell or some other object from the beach. "You really like the beach, huh?"

"Axel and I used to live right on the beach. And I wanted to bring a piece of home here so I did this." Riku says.

Sora stops to look at a shell encrusted picture frame and finds his eyes drawn to the photograph in it. "Who are they?" he asks.

Riku looks over to see what Sora is talking about and smiles when he sees the picture. "My friends back on Destiny Island. The girl with brown hair is Selphie, the blond boy is Tidus, the redhead is Wakka, and the girl with black hair is Wakka's girlfriend, Lulu." He sits down on his bed. "Bring it over here and I'll tell you about them."

Sora picks up the picture and eagerly joins Riku on the bed. "Who are you going to tell me about first?" H asks.

"Patience, Sora." Riku says teasingly. "I'll do general things first. Lets see… Wakka and Lulu are the oldest. Wakka's two months older than me and Lulu is three months older than Wakka. Selphie and Tidus are your age. Selphie's the youngest of our group and is probably the youngest sophomore. Her birthday is either the day before school starts or the very same day. I can never remember which."

Riku continues to tell Sora about the four, pausing on occasion to let Sora ask questions and to think of what to say next.

* * *

Back at Club Spira the group has split up for the night. Yuffie and Rikku are back out on the dance floor, as are Demyx and Zexion. Marluxia and Namine have left to go eat a late dinner and the remaining four are still sitting at the table. Kairi and Pence are talking and trying to ignore the ongoing fight between Olette and Hayner.

Kairi finally gets fed up with it and abruptly stands up, her violet eyes flashing angrily. "Will you two give it a rest? You've been fighting ever since you sat down at the table and I'm sick of it! Why don't you two just kiss and make up already!"

Olette, Hayner, and Pence stare at Kairi in shock. Kairi hasn't yelled like that since Hayner accidentally let his cat loose in her house and the cat ate her two pet mice, Mickey and Minnie.

She huffs and pushes her chair in. "Pence, will you walk me home?"

Pence gets up and pushes in his chair as well, trying not to act too eager. "I'd be delighted, Kairi."

Olette and Hayner watch in something akin to shock as Pence and Kairi leave the club together.

"That was…" Olette trails off, unable to think of a good word to describe the moment.

"Weird." Hayner fills in. "That was weird. Are those two dating?"

Olette shrugs. "Not that I'm aware of."

The two notice that they're actually getting along and promptly glare at one another before looking away. After a few minutes they brave the chance to glance over at one another.

"Hayner, do you remember what we're fighting over?" Olette hesitantly asks.

Hayner shakes his head. "Do you?"

"No." Olette admits.

The two avoid looking one another in the eyes for a moment and then they look up at the exact same time and blurt out, "I'm sorry."

They blush and look away.

* * *

Kairi laughs at the funny story that Pence just told her and leans on him for support. She wipes away a tear from her eye. "So what happened after that?" She asks.

"Hayner went home redder than a tomato and ended up having to go to school that way for the next few days." Pence says.

"That's a bit anticlimactic." Kairi remarks. She's unable to keep herself from smiling- no, beaming up at Pence. "Well, there's my house." She unnecessarily points to the two-story brick house.

"Oh. Yeah." Pence sounds a little disappointed. "I'll walk you to the door."

"Okay." Kairi shyly slips her hand into Pence's and lets him walk her right up to the door. At the door she bids him goodnight and quickly kisses him on the cheek. As she turns to open the door, Pence taps her on the shoulder.

"K-Kairi, would you like to go see a movie tomorrow? With me?" He nervously asks.

Kairi is quiet for a moment before she turns around and give Pence a smile. "I'd love to."

Pence looks relieved. "Great! I'll call you tomorrow!" He waits for her to go inside before he turns around and begins his walk home. Never before has he been happier.

* * *

Axel intently studies the sunset, taking in the myriad if colors and how they blend and swirl together. When he's sure he's gotten all the colors committed to memory he looks over at Roxas. He takes a moment to study him the same way he did the sunset, but before he's finished Roxas looks over and glares at him.

"What?" The blond asks waspishly.

Axel stuffs his hands in his pockets. "Nothing. I'm going home." He says.

Roxas watches him walk away with surprise etched on his face. He expected Axel would stick around for a while longer and at least try to strike up another conversation. _'He's not suppose to give up yet!'_ His brain screams. _'I was going to give him a chance!'_

"Wait!" He blurts out without really thinking. He doesn't register that he's running after Axel until he's standing right in front of the redhead. "You're giving up, just like that?" He demands.

"It's obviously what you want." Axel says tonelessly, trying to move around Roxas to go home.

Roxas growls and keeps blocking his way. "You idiot. Just when you get me actually wanting to talk to you, you go and give up. What will it take to have you give me a chance?" A small part of his brain wonders why he's trying so hard all of a sudden, but he shoves that thought to the back of his mind.

Axel stops trying to leave and looks down at Roxas in bewilderment. _'Is he serious? He's really asking __**me **__to give __**him **__a chance? Usually it's me asking him to give me a chance.' _He thinks. 'What will it take? He shouldn't have asked me that.' His eyes take on a devious shine and a smirk plays on his lips as he leans down and whispers in Roxas's ear, "Depends on what you're willing to do."

Roxas can't suppress the shiver that runs down his spine as Axel's breath ghosts across his skin. 'Damn him.' Is the last thought that runs through his mind before he leans forward and kisses Axel. He means for it to be short, but that changes when Axel pulls him closer and in return he reaches up and tangles his fingers in Axel's soft red hair.

* * *

Axel wanders into the house later that night and falls onto the couch with a goofy smile on his face.

Reno turns off the TV so he can talk to his favorite family member. "You look happy about something." He lazily remarks.

The goofy smile on Axel's face doesn't fade at all. If anything his smile gets wider. "Roxas kissed me." He says dreamily. "He asked me what it'd take for me to give him a chance so I told him it depended on what he was willing to do and then he kissed me!" He says in one breath. He sits on the couch for a moment longer and then leaps up. "I've got to tell Riku!"

"Do it in the morning." Reno says with a yawn. "Look in his room and you'll see why. And by the way, you might not want to go in your room. Loz, Kadaj, and Yazoo are in there."

Axel tosses a quick, "Thanks!" over his shoulder before he makes his way up the stairs. He stops by Riku's room and cracks open the door so he can peer in and grins when he sees his brother cuddled up with Sora on the bed. He stores the image in his head for future blackmail use and then continues on to the smallest spare bedroom where he collapses on the bed and drifts off to sleep.

* * *

End chapter

* * *

Shiro: Sorry it's a day late. I was too lazy to finish typing up the last bit last night. Well, more like too lazy to hunt down my folder. Anyway, school's started so I have limited time to work on the chapters so I may have to go to updated once a week instead of twice a week. For now I just have to wait and see how it goes.

Bast: You know, you could be smart about this and set aside time every evening to work on it. You need to practice for November anyway.

Shiro: (sighs) Yeah, I know.

Bast: And you also have the rest of today to work on chapter 11.

Shiro: But-

Bast: No 'buts'! Finish up whatever you need to do on the computer and get to work! Don't make me go get all three of your muses and lock you in a room with them and let them bounce idea's off of one another.

Shiro: (dryly) Yeah, because that turned out so well last time. I'm sure you remember.

Bast: (blanches) Oh, right. Yeah, bad idea.

Shiro: I'll work on it. Don't worry. There's a scene in that chapter that I'm looking forward to writing and it involves our favorite four boys.

Bast: More torment?

Shiro: Bingo!


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer**: Me? Own Kingdom Hearts? Nope. That right belongs to Square Enix and Disney. Oh, I don't own Final Fantasy X either.

* * *

There's use of the Al Bhed language in this chapter, so I figured it'd be nice if I put the translations here at the top. I've also got them at the end of the chapter.

_Sus! Tyt!- _Mom! Dad!

_E's rusa!- _I'm home!

_Rikku! Famlusa rusa!- _Rikku! Welcome home!

_Ynah'd oui kuehk du ehdnutila ouin vneaht?- _Aren't you going to introduce your friend?

_So hysa ec Yuffie. Hela du saad oui_.- My name is Yuffie. Nice to meet you.

_Sus, luimt oui aqlica ic vun y susahd?- _Mom, could you excuse us for a moment?

* * *

**It Must Be Destiny**

_Chapter 11_

Time breezes by with the group going to the club every other weekend. Sora has finally found his inspiration for writing the play, but he refuses to show anyone except for Demyx and Aerith. Axel and Roxas aren't together yet, but the same can't be said about Pence and Kairi. No one can tell if Olette and Hayner are dating or not, but that's normal.

The Fall Harvest is fast approaching and signs of it can be seen everywhere. The trees are beginning to turn the fiery reds, oranges, and yellows that fall is famous for and a chill has settled over all of Twilight Town. Each day more and more birds can be seen flying for a warmer climate.

Axel and Riku aren't too happy with the decrease in temperature, but they don't complain about it too much. Because while the fall does bring cooler temperatures it also brings the chance to ask Sora and Roxas over to dinner.

Axel is ecstatic to say the least and can't wait to ask his favorite blond. Riku is excited as well, but he just doesn't show it as much as Axel does. Riku's not really a 'singing/dancing/skipping around the house in joy' kind of guy anyway.

Riku's just happy that Axel doesn't act that way when they're out in public.

It's the last week before the Fall Harvest and everyone is excited about the upcoming week off. Plans are already being made to have dinner with friends or family or both. And it's because of one of those plans that Yuffie is bouncing off the walls.

* * *

Riku watches in amusement as Yuffie leaps up onto a stone wall and nearly falls off in her excitement. Like usual it's the two of them and Larxene walking to school together.

"Ninja-brat, you're worse than usual. Mind explaining to us why you're up on the wall about to kill yourself?" Larxene asks.

Yuffie jumps off the wall and lands expertly on her feet. "Rikku invited me to spend the holiday with her and meet her family!"

Larxene raises an eyebrow. "That's the reason for all of this?" She asks condescendingly.

Yuffie sticks out her tongue. "Just 'cause you don't think it's exciting it doesn't mean that I can't. So, Riku," She turns her attention to the white-nette quietly walking beside her. "Has Sora asked you yet?"

"Asked me what?" Riku asks.

"Nothing!" Yuffie says in a tone that clearly suggests that it isn't 'nothing'. "So what are you doing for the holiday?"

Riku shrugs. "Not sure. My parents have to work all week so it'll probably be just me and Axel eating dinner alone." He doesn't mention his idea to invite Sora and Roxas over.

"Well, if no one else invites you then you could always have dinner with Kairi, Demyx, Naminé, Luxord, and Larxene." Yuffie suggests. "Kairi's having dinner with them this year since I won't be home. Dinner with them is always exciting."

"I am not eating dinner with the firebug." Larxene says.

"Oh please, it's not like he'll catch the house on fire or anything! Right, Riku?"

Riku remains silent for a moment and then says, "Just keep all candles unlit and out of sight."

* * *

Axel rudely barges into Riku's room carrying a rather large cardboard box. "RIIIIIIIIIIIKUUUUUU! RIKU! Riku! Ri--"

"WHAT!?" Riku snarls, looking away from his homework to glare at Axel.

Axel just grins and jostles the box. "Mom wants us to decorate tonight. She said that if we don't do it then we'll wake up hanging from the ceiling again with the decorations on us."

Riku groans and puts down his pencil. "How is it that we get stuck putting up decorations every year while mom and dad just sit back and watch?"

"They work every day." Axel says.

"We have school, chores, and after school activities." Riku shoots back. "Not to mention we still have to find part-time jobs."

"Yeah, try explaining that to mom and dad." Axel replies, shifting the box in his arms. "Now get off your lazy ass and help me. This thing weighs a hell of a ton."

Riku rolls his eyes but gets up and helps his brother carry the heavy box to the living room, where they proceed to pull out many dusty decorations and put them in piles on the floor.

Mr. and Mrs. Firehaven relax comfortably on the couch and watch their sons.

"You'd think," Axel begins as he stretches to hang a string of fake orange, red, yellow, brown, and green leaves over the window. "That this would be a task for the whole family to do."

"But you boys do such a wonderful job." Mrs. Firehaven says with a smile on her face.

Axel and Riku exchange worried glances. The only time their mom says something truly nice it's either when something is wrong or she wants them to do something for her.

Axel quickly strings up the leaves and then hops down from the ladder. He dusts off his hands on his pants and then looks over at his parents. "Mom, is something wrong?" He asks.

Riku stops trying to untangle more strings of leaves from their wreath and looks up at his parents.

"Wrong?" Mrs. Firehaven asks, her smile not fading. "Why would anything be wrong?"

"You're being nicer than usual." Axel bluntly says, which makes Riku want to bang his head against the wall. Usually nothing good comes of Axel being blunt around their mom.

_'Too blunt! Too blunt!'_ He tries to send the mental message to Axel, but the redhead doesn't get it.

Mrs. Firehaven looks up at her husband with a fond look on her face and he kisses her on the cheek and whispers, "Go on. Tell them."

Mrs. Firehaven looks over at her sons and squeals, "I'm pregnant!"

* * *

Riku's head falls with a particularly loud 'thud' on the table and Sora pats his back in what he hopes is a comforting gesture while the others look on.

"Pregnant, huh." Olette says thoughtfully. "I don't see why you're not excited about this. I mean, just think! Now you'll have a baby brother or sister!"

"And we'll have to help take care of her." Axel says dully. "I'm not good with kids! I can barely manage to keep track of myself!" He says, half-hysterical.

Sora sighs and reaches out with his other hand to pat Axel on the back. It's just his luck to be stuck between the two.

"It won't be that bad, Axel." Kairi says. "From what I heard from Sora you do well with your little cousins."

"Yeah, but they're not toddlers. We're talking about a little baby, Kairi." Axel argues.

"They act like toddlers." Riku mutters, lifting his head off the table. "And this is going to be weird. We'll be eighteen years older than the baby."

"Eighteen?" Demyx looks a little confused. "But you're seventeen."

Zexion rolls his eyes at his lover. "They'll be eighteen by the time the baby is born."

Demyx blinks. "Oh. Oh, yeah." He grins sheepishly. "Forgot."

"Who do you think she'll look more like?" Naminé asks. "Or better, who do you think she'll act more like?"

"If she's anything like Axel then we're all doomed." Riku remarks. "If she is then I am moving out."

"Yeah, well if she's like _you _then _I_ am moving out." Axel counters.

"What if she's like one of your parents?" Kairi asks.

Riku and Axel exchange glances.

"Okay, if she's anything like mom then I'm moving out with you." Axel says.

"Agreed." Riku replies.

"What makes you guys so sure it'll be a girl?" Marluxia asks. "It could very easily be a boy. Unless you guys want a baby sister."

Axel shrugs. "Dunno. And I guess it doesn't really matter." He sits back in his chair and looks over at Sora. "How's the play coming? Care to share any tidbits of what I'm making props for?"

Sora smiles mysteriously. "You'll see." He replies. "Which reminds me, how are the costumes coming along, Dem?"

The tops of conversation remains away from the new Firehaven kid and stays focused more on school and related activities. Naminé tries once or twice to talk to Riku about his future little brother or sister, but each time Marluxia uses his favorite method of shutting her up.

An hour later the 10 teens leave to go home to do homework or chores. How all ten of them were able to fit at one around table is a mystery to all.

Sora calls Riku aside as they're leaving and tells Roxas that he'll see him at home. Roxas gives him a suspicious look but continues on and ignores Axel's attempts to walk him home.

"Riku, I was going to ask this earlier but I didn't have time." Sora says. "Would you like to have dinner with me and my family next Thursday?"

Riku looks down at Sora and when he sees those big blue eyes looking up at him he knows he can't say no. "I'd love to." He says, letting a warm smile spread across his face.

Sora smiles broadly. "Great! And Axel is invited too. I know Roxas wants him to come but it's not like he'd ever say that out loud."

Riku chuckles. "No, I can't imagine that either. But if we go have dinner at your place on Thursday, then you and Roxas come over on Friday for dinner."

A playful glint enters Sora's eyes. "You won't be cooking, will you?"

"No, I--" Riku stops and stares at Sora, who grins. "Who told you?"

"Axel." Sora replies. "And Roxas mentioned it too."

Riku sighs. "I can't do anything to Roxas, but Axel is wide open." He smirks and cracks his knuckles. "He's in for a surprise when I get home."

* * *

With all of them having something to look forward to during their week off, the remainder of the week crawls by. At one point during the week Hayner swears that the clock completely stops at some parts of the day which gets Yuffie arguing that it's because the school clocks are worth crap. And Larxene has been in such a foul mood that not only has she been snapping at everyone like usual, she is also violently shocking people who get too close.

When the bell rings on Friday the atmosphere of the school could rival the excitement at the beginning of High School Musical 2, only without the singing and dancing. Well, there's no singing or dancing at Twilight High School, but Sunset High School is a different story.

To celebrate their week-long break the entire group heads off to the club to hang out, dance, and goof off. By the time they split up for the night everyone is exhausted.

* * *

Early one morning, Rikku knocks on the Kisaragi's front door and when Kairi answers the door she gives the redhead one of her trademark bright smiles.

"Good morning, Kairi." Rikku greets. "Is my sexy Yuffie around?"

Kairi giggles and steps aside to let her in. "She's up in her room working on one of her 'super secret projects' that she won't tell me about. You know the way."

"Thanks!" Rikku practically skips past Kairi, who notes with some amusement that there are bells strung through her hair and that they jingle whenever she moves.

Kairi softly laughs as she closes the door and listens to the bells. "Yuffie has finally met her match." She says to herself. "Things are bound to get interesting with them together."

Upstairs, Rikku barges right into Yuffie's room without pausing to knock. Yuffie jumps nearly two feet in the air and drops whatever it is she's working on.

"Rikku! You startled me!" Yuffie exclaims, bending down to pick up the large object.

Rikku grins when she notices that Yuffie is clad in only a black sports bra and black shorts. "'cha working on?" She asks as she crosses the room to sit down on the bed. "It's all… flowery." She tilts her head to the side. "You don't usually like flowery things."

"It's for Kairi." Yuffie replies. "She and Sora and Roxas used to make these years ago out of cardboard and used to fight with them. I've finished Sora's already and it's hidden in my closet. I've got the base for both of Roxas's finished, but there's still little details to go over." She sighs and holds up one of the flowers. "I just got these today so I figured I'd arrange these where I need them and weld them on tomorrow before I paint it."

"Want any help?" Rikku asks.

Yuffie shakes her head. "They have to be just perfect." She gently nudges one of the flowers and tacks it in place. She repeats the action a few more times before sighing in relief and setting it aside.

"I never had you pegged for the artsy type." Rikku remarks, trailing a finger over the exposed skin on her girlfriend's leg. She raises her vivid green eyes to meet Yuffie's dark violet. "Don't you go to Twilight?"

Yuffie ignores the gentle touch for the most part. "I do, but that doesn't mean I don't appreciate art. I'm just better at sports and physical activities." She rolls her eyes when Rikku grins at 'physical activities'. "Perv." She mutters.

"You love me and you know it." Rikku says, removing her hand from Yuffie's leg. "Now, believe it or not I actually have a reason for being here other than to spend time with you. It's about Thursday's dinner."

Yuffie looks at Rikku apprehensively.

"It's nothing bad!" Rikku quickly reassures, easily and correctly reading the look on Yuffie's face. "It's just that my family has the tendency to speak Al Bhed and not realizing that they are. It gets really bad when we go from speaking in plain English and then go straight into Al Bhed in the middle of a sentence."

"So I get to learn Al Bhed?" Yuffie excitedly asks.

"Oac!" Rikku cheerfully chirps. "That means 'yes'." She says with a wink.

"So I gathered." Yuffie responds. "So where do we start?"

"The basics, dearest Yuffie." Rikku says. "We start with the basics."

* * *

Sora hums as he adds the finishing touches to Thursday's dinner. He has all but banished the rest of the family from the kitchen and only allows Squall in every now and then to see how things are going.

The doorbell rings just as he's ladling gravy into a bowl but he continues to move at the same pace, not wanting to screw anything up or drop anything by moving too fast. He starts humming once again as he begins carrying food into the dining room and arranges it on the table. As he does so he catches snippets of conversation from the living room, but he doesn't stop to listen until all of the food is on the table.

"So, where are you two from?" Sora hears his mom ask.

"Destiny Island." Axel says.

"I've heard the islands are gorgeous. I almost visited them once but I had to cancel and go in to work. Do you think you'll ever go back?"

Sora decides he doesn't want to hear the answer. He quickly opens the door and, after putting a fake cheerful smile on his face, announces that dinner is ready in a deceptively happy tone.

He doesn't stop to wonder why he feels sick at the thought of Riku leaving. The thought doesn't even cross his mind as he directs Riku to sit right next to him.

"Looks good, Sora." Axel remarks as he sits down beside Riku and across from Roxas. "I can't believe how well you can cook."

Sora blushes, something that doesn't go unnoticed by Riku, who glares at Axel. Roxas notices the glare and gives Riku a warning look. Cloud, who is sitting at the head of the table, frowns when he notices. Squall chooses to ignore them and Mrs. Strife remains blissfully unaware.

Everyone makes sure to complement Sora on his cooking as they begin to eat and with each complement Sora blushes a little. The only time his face turns bright red is when Riku accidentally brushes his hand against his.

Cloud lightly kicks Sora in warning.

"Sora, Roxas, you never told me how you met Riku and Axel." Mrs. Strife says.

"I met Axel at Sunset." Sora says, happy for the distraction. "And I met Riku when I went over there to talk about drama stuff with Axel. Then Roxas came over to get me and Axel answered the door. It was funny 'cause Axel came running back into the room and yell-" He stops and hurriedly corrects his would-be mistake. "Yelled something. I don't remember what it was. Actually it wasn't all that funny." He stares down at his food and pokes at a slice of turkey.

Mrs. Strife smiles, apparently not noticing that Sora didn't tell her the whole story. "I for one am glad you four met. I don't think I've ever seen Roxas and Sora happier."

Roxas snorts into his drink and covers it up by coughing and pretending it went down the wrong pipe.

"So, Leon," Mrs. Strife turns her gaze to the older brunet. "I'm surprised you're spending another Harvest dinner with us. Still no girlfriend?"

Squall's eyes flicker to Cloud, who has automatically stiffened, and then he looks back to Mrs. Strife. "Still no girlfriend." He slowly says, choosing his words carefully. "Although there s someone special to me."

Mrs. Strife practically squeals. "Oh, I'm so happy for you! What's her name? What does she look like? Does she have a sister who Cloud can date?"

Squall looks vaguely amused by the last question while Cloud turns cherry red. Sora chooses to "accidentally" knock a fork under the table and proceeds to duck down to retrieve it. Roxas is swiftly paling and glaring daggers at Squall at the same time. Axel and Riku expertly hide their confusion and amusement.

Squall's eyes once again flicker momentarily to Cloud before a hint of a smirk crosses his face. "My special someone," He says in the same slow, thoughtful tone. "has a name relating to the sky,"

Sora's head comes in contact with the table.

"Blond hair and blue eyes,"

Roxas's glare intensifies.

"And two younger siblings." Squall finishes. "Both of whom already have significant others."

"I do?" Comes Sora's soft murmur from under the table.

Squall swiftly kicks him and Sora's head comes in contact with the table for the second time that night.

"Sora, are you okay?" Mrs. Strife asks, concern lacing her voice.

"I'm fine, mom." Sora says as he climbs out from under the table, fork in hand.

"Well I for one am happy for you, Leon." Mrs. Strife says. "It doesn't seem like any of my boys are interested in dating. And I was looking forward so much to having grandchildren." She gives a disappointed sigh.

Axel catches Roxas's eye and winks suggestively. Roxas promptly kicks him, but even that goes wrong as Axel engages him in a game of footsie.

Roxas is not amused.

He's especially not amused when he misjudges a kick to Axel's leg and ends up slamming his knee into the table when the phone rings. While his mom goes to answer the phone he fights back tears of pain and glares at Axel.

"What the _hell _are you thinking?!" He hisses. "My mom is sitting _right beside us _and you're trying to screw around!"

Axel's smile fades. "I was just trying to get you to lighten up. You're too tense."

"I wouldn't have to lighten up if _someone_," Roxas gives Squall a piercing glare, but the older male is too busy apologizing to Cloud. "Wasn't dropping hints." He fixes his glare back on Axel. "You. Are. _Not_. Helping." He growls.

"You can't hide it forever, Rox." Axel says. "It would be better to hear it from one of you instead of someone else."

"_Like who."_

"Hayner has a big mouth and there's no way I can keep from ravishing you at the club." He ignores Roxas's glare. "And there's also my parents, who _will _be informed when we begin dating."

"I will _never _date you." Roxas hisses.

"We'll see, Roxas. We'll see." Axel says, dismissing the idea that they'll never date. "You forget about Riku and Sora." He looks pointedly at the two and Roxas follows his gaze to see Sora and Riku sitting even closer to one another.

Roxas growls when Riku playfully kisses the top of Sora's head which causes the younger boy to blush.

"Riku hasn't realized how much he cares for Sora yet." Axel says, his green eyes no longer playful. "Right now he's confused; He doesn't know what to think or why he feels anything but friendship when it comes to Sora." He sighs. "But he'll figure it out. It'll take a while, but he'll figure it out."

Roxas says nothing.

* * *

"Ready?" Rikku asks, smiling at Yuffie.

Yuffie nervously nods. "I-I think so." She says unsurely.

Rikku kisses her on the cheek and then pulls back to look Yuffie in the eyes. "You'll be just fine. My family will love you! Just loosen up and be yourself." She smiles and then opens the door to her parents' house. "Sus! Tyt! Brother!" She calls as she steps into the bustling house. "E's rusa!"

A woman with Rikku's hair and eyes appears in the hallway, wiping her hands on her apron. "Rikku! Famlusa rusa!" She says warmly. "Ynah'd oui kuehk du ehdnutila ouin vneaht?"

Rikku smiles and nudges Yuffie. "It's my mom. Say hello."

"So hysa ec Yuffie. Hela du saad oui." Yuffie says perfectly, not once stumbling over the words.

Rikku beams proudly.

"You found a smart girl, Rikku." Her mom says, her English a little shaky. "It is a joy to meet you, Yuffie. I'm Alysia Spira. You may call me Alysia or mom or anything you like."

"Thank you, Mrs. Spira." Yuffie says softly, which makes Rikku frown and wonder why she's so quiet. Just that morning she was practically bouncing off the wall in excitement!

"Sus, luimt oui aqlica ic vun y susahd?" Rikku asks.

Mrs. Spira nods and walks back into the kitchen, presumably to finish up dinner.

Rikku pulls Yuffie off to the side where no one will see them. "Okay, what's wrong?" She asks.

Yuffie uncomfortably rubs her arms. "I always get uncomfortable around big families. I-" She stops and looks down. "Kairi and I have never had that. Our parents are divorced and dad lives far away. Mom's always traveling and we haven't seen her in over three years." She sighs. "She calls now and then, but it's not the same."

Rikku wraps her girlfriend in a hug, seeing for the first time a more fragile side to Yuffie. "It'll be okay. If it helps, you can think of this as just a big gathering of friends.

"Yeah, but in a group of friends I don't stand out." Yuffie says.

"You stood out to me at the club." Rikku reminds. "Amidst all the brightly clothed people the one who caught my attention was the sexy, energetic girl in black."

Yuffie giggles. "That's true."

"Don't worry." Rikku says, holding out a hand. "You won't be the only non-Al Bhed here. And you already know one of my cousins."

Yuffie's eyes light up. "Yuna's here?"

Rikku nods. "Yup! We can go say 'hi' if she's not sucking face with her boyfriend."

Yuffie slips her hand into Rikku's. "Lets go!"

* * *

At the Strife's, Riku and Axel are leaving to go back home while Mrs. Strife rushes around to get dressed for work.

"Thanks for dinner, Sora!" Axel cheerfully says as he pulls on his long, black coat. "Don't forget to come over for dinner at our house tomorrow. We've volunteered our dad to coo and he seems pretty happy about it."

"We can't wait." Sora says. "What time do you want me and Roxas over?" He asks.

"Dinner is at six, but you can come over earlier if you want." Riku says.

Sora bids both of them goodbye while Cloud and Squall stand back and watch. Roxas refuses to even look at Axel and only says goodbye to Riku, but then Axel somehow catches his attention and blows him a kiss before he leaves.

"I'm going too." Cloud stats when the door is closed. "You two won't be other there with them alone."

"But we won't be. Their parents will be over there too. And Riku and Axel would never hurt us." Sora says.

Squall rests a hand on Cloud's shoulders and leads him back into the living room. "They'll be fine." He says. "Roxas and Sora are smart and Riku and Axel are good kids." He swiftly places a kiss on Cloud's lips before the blond can protest and backs off just as quickly. "What do you say we go work on that _problem _in your room."

Cloud rolls his eyes and mutters, "Horny bastard" but adjourns to his room with Squall anyway.

* * *

End chapter

* * *

_Sus! Tyt!- _Mom! Dad! 

_E's rusa!- _I'm home!

_Rikku! Famlusa rusa!- _Rikku! Welcome home!

_Ynah'd oui kuehk du ehdnutila ouin vneaht?- _Aren't you going to introduce your friend?

_So hysa ec Yuffie. Hela du saad oui_.- My name is Yuffie. Nice to meet you.

_Sus, luimt oui aqlica ic vun y susahd?- _Mom, could you excuse us for a moment?

* * *

Shiro: Well, I'd say this earns the title of 'second longest chapter'. And it also puts me one step closer to beating 'Family Bonds'. Bwahaha! 

Bast: (sighs) Here we go...

Shiro: See, I've got this goal to have "It Must Be Destiny" hit the top of my stats pages and to do that I'm going to need a little help. So far in words it's my 6th longest story. In chapters it's 8th. In reviews it's 9th. In hits it's 6th. In Favs it is 4th. And I am very proud to say that it has tied with 'Truth Be Told' in alerts for 1st place.

Roxas: Why this story? Why us?

Shiro: I just love this story so damn much! (huggles story) It's my favorite of any I've written (except for maybe LAPOW, 'cause I had a super fun time writing that one.) so I want it to beat out the old one's I've written. And hey, it's good for a writer to have a goal. Or goals.

Keitaro: How is this going to benefit the readers?

Kaze: (smirks) Isn't 'benefit' a bit of a big word for you, Kiiro?

Keitaro: ...

Shiro: No fighting. Anyway, the readers should like this since it means I'll be writing more. And the more reviews I get the more I write and the sooner I update. See, it's all connected.

Roxas: (holds up a sign that reads: _Save me from the psychopathic writer_)

Shiro: Gimme that! (takes sign)

Roxas: (draws keyblades)

Shiro: Aww, shit! (runs)

Roxas: (chases)


	12. Chapter 12

Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts. It belongs to Square Enix and Disney.

Shiro: Super short chapter ahead, folks. And by the way, this chapter is for _**Baronfly**_ who provided me with the inspiration for this chapter. The moment I read the review I just knew I had to give Yuffie and Rikku a chapter all for themselves to wreak havoc. It didn't turn out like I planned, but I still like it.

By the way, this chapter is in Naminé's point-of-view. Why? Because I love Naminé to pieces and she hasn't gotten nearly enough scenes in this story. And I have fun writing in her POV.

* * *

**It Must Be Destiny**

_Chapter 12_

Bad things happen when Yuffie and Rikku get together and plot.

That is what all of us have decided after having a sleepover with the two girls. We've also decided that we will never again go to a sleepover that they host.

It all started when we agreed to go to said sleepover…

* * *

_Flashback_

_Demyx, Marluxia, and I arrive at the Kisaragi's, late. Yuffie hates it when people are late. Thankfully she's busy arguing with Hayner and doesn't notice how late we are._

"_There you are, Naminé!" Sora happily bounces over to us, dragging Riku with him. "Hi Demyx! Hi Marluxia!"_

_I stifle a laugh at the look on Riku's face. Sora must have gotten into Yuffie's Mountain Dew stash. "Hi Sora. Riku." I greet. "Having fun?"_

_Sora enthusiastically nods. "Yup! Except me and Riku are handcuffed together. See?" He lifts up an arm so the three of us can see that the two are indeed handcuffed together. And judging by the fact that they're pink and fuzzy, I'd say it's definitely Yuffie's handiwork. Rikku probably helped._

"_Please tell me you know how to get these things off." Riku says in a pleading tone._

"_It's called a key, Riku." I tease. "And Yuffie probably has it hidden in a place you'd never think of looking."_

"_And in case you're wondering, that place isn't her underwear drawer." Demyx says, unabashed._

_We all turn to look at Demyx, surprised that he said something like that._

"_As much as I really don't want to know, I really want to know: how do you know this?" Marluxia asks._

_Demyx blushes and looks around for an escape. "I- uh- well- that is- ZEXION!" He seemingly spots his boyfriend and runs off after him._

_Riku looks mildly disturbed by the conversation and Sora looks confused. Looking up at Marluxia I can tell he's just as amused by this as I am. One can never say that it's boring hanging out with us._

"_I'm going to go find Kairi." I tell the three boys. "I'll be back in a while. Don't go too far." I say before I rise up on my toes and kiss Marluxia. As much as I want to stay and kiss him some more, I pull away and walk off in search of Kairi._

_I pass by Roxas and Axel, who seem to be having some kind of argument. Or maybe Axel has done something to annoy Roxas and so Roxas is ignoring him. Of course, Axel could have just as easily done absolutely nothing and Roxas is just being stubborn._

_I sigh. We'd make a great soap opera if anyone cared to film us. Crazy enough things happen that I'm sure we could entertain loads of people._

_I walk into the kitchen, which is where I find Kairi, Olette, and Pence. Olette is the first one to see me._

"_Hey, Naminé! When'd you get here?" She asks._

"_A few minutes ago. Demyx and Marluxia came with me." I say._

_Kairi puts her hands on her hips. "I don't see how you three are late. Demyx lives right on the other side of Riku and Axel!"_

"_We weren't at Demyx's." I remind her. "We were over at my house working on something for drama. Speaking of drama, what's with Roxas and Axel? Is it just the usual or did something happen?" I ask. I can't help it. When it comes to my friends I've just got to know what's going on._

"_We're not sure." Olette says. "They were like that when we got here, although with the way Axel was apologizing earlier I think he might have accidentally done something."_

_I nod. Doubtless part of whatever it is, is just Roxas being stubborn. In a way I can see why he's reluctant to let himself like Axel. I was the same way with Marluxia when we first met. But after a certain amount of time it just gets annoying. If it continues for too much longer I might have to intervene like Kairi did for me and Marluxia._

"_I get it, I get it." Pence suddenly says. "I'll leave so you three can have your girl talk."_

_I wonder momentarily what he means and it's then I realize that we've been quiet for a while._

"_Please and thank you." Kairi says sweetly, giving Pence a kiss on the cheek. "We won't be too long. You know we don't gossip too much."_

"_I'll be with Hayner." Pence says. "Unless he's still arguing with Yuffie."_

"_He was when I came in, but I don't know it he still is." I say. "If they are still arguing then ask girl-Rikku to distract Yuffie."_

_Pence nods and laves the kitchen, leaving us three girls to talk for a bit about typical girl stuff. Okay, so all we really talk about is our boys. Turns out Hayner and Olette really are dating and just never told any of us._

"_Before I forget, do either of you know why Riku and Sora are handcuffed together?" I ask. "Or better yet, why the handcuffs are pink and fuzzy."_

_Kairi shrugs. "Yuffie and Rikku thought it'd be funny. And we __**really **__need nicknames for our two Riku's."_

"_Lets call girl-Rikku 'Ri'." Olette suggests. "Sora's Riku we can call 'Ku' or something."_

_Before we can continue with our conversation about what to call the two we both hear and feel a loud 'BANG!' echo through the house, shortly followed by the sound of Roxas and Axel yelling._

_The three of us rush out of the kitchen in search of the others and find them all gathered around a closet from which yelling from Axel and Roxas can be heard._

_I watch as Yuffie and Rikku high-five and a sinking feeling settles in my stomach._

"_This night cannot end well." I think out loud._

_End Flashback_

* * *

Well, I was right. That night didn't end too well. After all, by the end of the night we had Sora and Riku handcuffed together; Roxas and Axel locked in a closet together; Demyx and Zexion were caught making out and Yuffie and Rikku took pictures; Kairi had to threaten Yuffie to leave her and Pence alone; Marluxia and I woke to find ourselves tied together; and Kairi and Olette woke to find their bra's in the freezer and Hayner woke to find his boxers in the freezer.

All together it wasn't a fun morning. We did manage to get our revenge though.

* * *

_On different sides of town, at the exact same time, two girls awaken with a piercing scream._

* * *

"Revenge is sweet." I say with a chuckle. I absently pick at a patch of neon pink paint on my skin. "Very sweet."

* * *

End Chapter

* * *

Cute, yes? I know it wasn't very long but I don't really think it needed to be. The next chapter will be at the usual length; promise. It should be a good one too. 


	13. Chapter 13

Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts. It belongs to Disney and Square Enix. I also don't own the songs "Pop" by NSYNC, or "Just So You Know" by Jesse McCartney (the song is such a perfect AkuRoku song. I suggest listening to it or, if you don't like Jesse McCartney's music, at least look up the lyrics.)

NOTE: I just realized something: I'm posting the 13 chapter on Sept 13. Ha ha ha. Yeah. I notice weird things like that.

* * *

**It Must Be Destiny**

_Chapter 13_

Riku shivers as he pulls his coat more tightly around his body. He's bundled up to the point of being ridiculous and none of his friends are scared to tease him about it. Sadly, he's not nearly as bad as Axel who has zero cold tolerance. The only reason Axel doesn't get teased is because he isn't wearing clothes that make him look like a puff ball.

"Cold?" Yuffie teases.

Riku shivers violently as a gust of wind blows by. He glares at Yuffie. "Sh-shut up." He stutters.

Yuffie laughs. "You look like a giant marshmallow!"

Riku's glare intensifies. "It's fucking cold. We never got snow back on Destiny Island." He pauses, his shivering ceasing momentarily before coming back full force. "I have an idea." He fumbles through his pockets, trying to find his phone with his bulky mittens. He finally finds it and has Yuffie dial the number. "Axel, how do you feel about a trip to Destiny Island in two days?"

* * *

"Road trip!" Demyx happily sings as he tosses his duffel bag into the back of the van that Axel and Riku have rented. He smiles at Zexion. "Isn't this exciting? We get to get out of Twilight Town and go someplace new! And it's the beach too! We'll be able to swim! I love swimming!" 

"I'll just be glad to get out of the cold." Axel groans as he shoves his old, falling apart suitcase into the back of the van. Then he tosses in his duffel bag too. "Last call for luggage!" He calls. "Kairi? Pence? Demyx? Zexion? Sor--"

"Axel, shut up and get in the damn car!" Riku yells from the driver's seat. "Everyone in! We've got a seven hour drive ahead of us, followed by a hour on a boat and then a fifteen minute drive to the place we rented. I want to get there before six so we can go surprise the others at the island."

As Riku's talking, the others are getting into the van and figuring out who's sitting where. Sora nabs the passenger's seat; Kairi, Pence, and Roxas are in the middle; and Demyx, Zexion, and Axel are in the back, much to Axel's disappointment.

Fifteen minutes into the trip, after flipping through the radio stations trying to find something good, Sora finds a case of CD's under his seat and decides it'd be better to listen to one of those. He examines the case and, seeing as how it has flames decorating it, assumes that it's Axel's. He flips through it and grins at one of the CD's he finds. He pulls it out and slides it into the player.

Riku and Roxas groan when they hear what comes blasting through the speakers. Pence just laughs and Demyx and Axel exchange grins before leaning forward and starting to sing. Sora and Kairi join in a few seconds later.

"_Sick and tired of hearing_

_All these people talk about_

_What's the deal with this pop life_

_And when is gonna fade out_

_The thing you got to realize_

_What we doing is not a trend_

_We got the gift of melody_

_We gonna bring it till the end"_

Riku eventually gives in and taps his fingers against the steering wheel in time with the beat. By the time they hit the chorus a second time Kairi has managed to nudge Roxas into singing and soon all of them, excluding Zexion who rarely speaks as it is, are singing along the best they can.

"_Do you ever wonder why_

_This music gets you high?_

_It takes you on a ride_

_Feel it when your body_

_Starts to rock_

_And the music's all you got_

_Come on now_

_This must be, pop"_

After listening to the CD for a while they turn it back to the radio and listen to it until they make their first stop of the day for food. Where? Well, after arguing over whether fast food or not-so-fast food is better, they settle on the not-so-fast food and go to Applebees.

Riku gives them a warning as they go in. "The first one of you who so much as thinks about getting us kicked out of Applebees will get their ass kicked so hard that they'll feel it for weeks! Unless it's Kairi, in which case I'll have to be content with making your life a living hell all vacation."

"Oh please," Kairi says, rolling her eyes. "Why would any of us try to get kicked out of Applebees?"

"You'd be surprised." Riku mutters, looking over at Axel.

"I said I was sorry!" Axel exclaims. "I was a kid! I didn't know any better!"

"Axel, you were fifteen." Riku deadpans, crossing his arms over his chest.

"I still didn't know any better!" Axel enforces.

"You told me you knew you shouldn't but that you were going to do it anyway." Riku reminds him.

"Yeah- well, I was fifteen and stupid, so sue me!" Axel exclaims, waving his arms in the air.

There's a moment of silence.

"So, are we going to go in or do you two want to argue all day?" Kairi asks as she starts walking to the door. "Sora and Demyx are already inside getting our table."

Riku and Axel hurriedly enter Applebees with the others so they can sit down, order food, eat the food, and get back on the road.

* * *

An hour later Axel is driving the van and Kairi is in the passengers seat. Sora, Riku, and Roxas are in the middle and Demyx, Zexion, and Pence are in the back. 

Thankfully, they were not kicked out of Applebees, even though Roxas did cause a scene when Axel rested a hand on the blond's leg.

"How much longer?" Demyx asks.

"Four and a half more hours until we reach the boat that will take us to Destiny Island." Riku says. "Altogether it'll be around five hours and forty-five minutes until we pull into the driveway."

Silence fills the van, but is soon interrupted.

"I'm putting in a CD, Roxas." Kairi announces, pulling her own CD case out of a small bag by her feet. It remains a mystery why she directed the comment to Roxas until the blond speaks up and says, "Number two, Kai."

"Rox, you're not gonna…" Sora stops talking when the music begins playing and Roxas sits up straight. He looks worriedly at his younger brother as the blond takes a breath and begins to sing.

"_I shouldn't love you, _

_But I want to,_

_I just can't turn away._

_I shouldn't see you,_

_But I can't move,_

_I can't look away."_

Axel nearly swerves off the road when Roxas begins singing in his dulcet voice. Kairi quickly smacks him and he straightens up and keeps his eyes on the road.

"_I shouldn't love you,_

_But I want to,_

_I just can't turn away, _

_I shouldn't see you,_

_But I can't move,_

_I can't look away._

_And I don't know,_

_How to be fine when I'm not,_

'_Cause I don't know, how to make a feeling stop._

"_Just so you know,_

_This feeling's taking control of me,_

_And I can't help it,_

_I won't sit around, _

_I can't let them win now,_

_Thought you should know,_

_I tried my best to let go of you,_

_But I don't want to,_

_I just gotta say it all before I go,_

_Just so you know."_

When Roxas finishes the song, everyone except Axel claps and cheers. Axel tries, but he's quickly smacked by Kairi.

"What was that for?!" Axel yells, looking over at her.

"Keep your hands on the wheel at all times." Kairi recites. "And watch the road!" She yells, smacking him again.

Axel looks back at the road and rubs his arm. "Damn, that hurts."

"Good." Kairi says, smacking him for the fourth time. "Both. Hands. On. The. Wheel." She says slowly.

"Shut up and let me drive!" Axel yells.

Kairi stifles a laugh and leans forward to flip to a different song. "Alright, Dem, here's one for you."

Demyx listens to the first few humming chords and grins. "It's my song! The one I wrote!"

"Lets hear it, Demyx." Sora says.

"But it feels weird to sing without playing my sitar too." Demyx complains.

Kairi rolls her eyes. "Play air sitar or something." She suggests. "I'm going to start it over. Just relax and sing. Feel the music." She says.

Demyx takes in a breath. "Okay, restart it."

Kairi reaches forward and restarts the song. Then she sits back and listens to the soothing sound of Demyx's melodious voice.

"_When you're feeling like life is dragging you down,_

_And you feel like screaming out loud, 'Oh what have I done?',_

_You've got to keep searching, keep pushing forward!_

_Don't let the little things get to you,_

_Things will get better, you know it's true!_

_Just keep your head together,_

_Yeah keep it cool!_

_Let the melody of the music lift--" _

The tone of the song abruptly changes and something completely different begins playing. Kairi curses under her breath and ejects the CD. "Sorry, Demyx." She apologizes. "Yuffie must have screwed around with the music. I swear I need to label my stuff to say, 'Property of Kairi, do not touch! That means you, Yuffie!' or something."

"It's okay, Kairi." Demyx says, sounding relieved that he doesn't have to sing anymore. "I- uh, have some kinks to work out anyway." He leans to the side and snuggles against Zexion, who kisses him on the forehead.

"Play some rock for a bit, Kairi." Riku says. "We've already been through pop and country, so lets hear a little rock."

"Ooo! And J-pop!" Sora exclaims. "We've gotta play some J-pop!"

Kairi nods as she flips through Axel's CD case. "After the rock, Sora. Everyone okay with Trapt?"

"NO!" Riku all but screams. "Axel speeds up and gets this creepy devilish look on his face when he listens to that while he's driving. It scares the hell out of me. I blame it on the fact that one of the songs is on this ATV race game we play."

Kairi hastily puts away the CD. "Okay, what about…" She flips through a few more CD's. "October Fall?"

"Kairi, since when do you have October Fall?" Roxas asks. "I didn't think you even liked them. Unless after all these years of having me and Demyx play our favorite group has finally worn you down enough to make you like them too."

"It's not mine." Kairi says. There's a hint of a smile on her face as she slides the CD into the player. "It's Axel's."

Roxas falls silent and a contemplative look falls over his face. Sora looks worriedly at him, but says nothing.

* * *

Several hours later they finally pull into the driveway of the rented house and they all clamber out of the van, relieved to get out of the cramped space. 

Axel breathes in deep, taking in as much of the salty air as he can. "Damn… it still feels like home." He softly says. "Home…"

"You can rejoice later, Axel." Riku says as he walks around to the back of the van and pops open the back. "We're taking in the bags right now. Then we'll relax a bit before we go over to the island and surprise the others."

"Are you sure they'll be there?" Axel asks. "I don't want to go only for them to not even be there."

"I checked and double checked." Riku assures his brother. "They're there right now." He lifts out Axel's suitcase and nearly drops it on the ground. "Damn, Axel! What do you have in here? Rocks?"

Axel rolls his eyes and easily picks up the suitcase. "That's none of your business. And it's not that heavy. Now give me my bag."

Riku pulls Axel's other bag out of the back and for a moment considers throwing it at his brother. In the end he just hands it over and then starts unloading other bags. Pence and Roxas join him a moment later while the others carry the bags into the house. The van is quickly unpacked.

Inside they run into a small problem regarding places to sleep. There's only three beds and there are eight of them.

"We could draw straws." Kairi suggests. "And we could switch out ever night or every other night or something."

"I like Kairi's idea!" Demyx says.

"We don't have straws." Zexion speaks up.

Demyx looks disappointed. "Oh…"

Zexion pulls Demyx close, hoping to comfort his boyfriend. "If everyone doubles up then there will be enough room. One person can sleep on the couch and the other in the recliner."

Everyone looks at Zexion, surprised that he said that much. None of them, with the exception of Demyx, has ever heard him say more than one sentence at a time.

"I like that plan." Demyx says. "But only as long as I'm with Zexion."

"Fine." Riku says. "Go pick a room."

Demyx cheers and picks up his bag before he tugs Zexion out of the room.

The remaining six quickly determine that Kairi and Pence will room together and the two go off to claim their room. This leaves Sora, Riku, Axel, and Roxas left to decide where they'll be sleeping.

"Well, does anyone want the couch?" Riku asks. "Or does anyone absolutely have to have a bed?"

"I'll take the couch!" Roxas quickly volunteers, knowing that by choosing the couch he won't somehow end up cuddling with the pyromaniac redhead. Part of him knows that Axel will insist on being his roommate, and anyways, better safe than sorry!

"Then I'll take the recliner." Axel immediately says. Part of his goal for vacation is to spend as much time with Roxas as he possibly as he can. 'I will get him to relax around me.' He determinedly tells himself as he carries his suitcase and bag into the living room. 'I'm tired of feeling like I have to tip toe around him and be careful of everything I do. Maybe Riku and Sora were right; I should have been completely myself from the very beginning.' He sets down his suitcase first and then throws his bag onto the recliner. 'Be myself. No problem.'

"Why?"

Axel looks up to see Roxas standing in the doorway with his own bag. He hides a smile as he unzips his bag and pulls out his swim trunks. "You already know."

* * *

Riku motions for everyone to be quiet as they tie their boats to a large rock that has been pushed over close to shore. Once the boats are secured they follow Axel over a shallow area of water, in which Sora promptly trips and falls over a piece of wood, splashing everyone around him. 

"Sorry!" Sora hastily apologizes, trying his best to stand back up. His waterlogged clothes make it difficult and he falls back down.

Demyx laughs and tries to help Sora up, only to fall over himself. Zexion swears he does it on purpose, just so he can get wet.

Eventually they all make it out of the water and, after Sora and Demyx wring out their clothes a little, then they go quietly through a wooden door. Together the eight sneak along the beach until a dock and four other teens come into view. They get as close as they can without the four noticing them and Sora realizes that they're the four teens in the picture Riku showed him.

"It's so weird coming here without Riku and Axel." The brunette girl says sadly.

'_Selphie.' _Sora thinks absently. _'That's what Riku said her name was.'_

"Hard to believe it's only been four months, ya? It feels like forever." The tall, muscular boy says.

Sora inches closer to Riku. _'Wakka.'_ The name pops into his head. _'Blitzball team captain for Destiny High.'_

"Come on, guys!" A blond boy says, jumping up. "We can have tons of fun without those losers!"

Axel and Riku choose that as the best time to announce their presence.

"Nice to know you care, Tidus." Axel says loudly.

All four teens visibly jump and then look around for the source. Selphie gasps and runs over to them. "Riku! Axel!" She yells. "You're back! I don't believe it!" She enthusiastically hugs Axel and then tackles Riku into a hug.

Sora ignores the pang of jealously that stabs at his heart and fights back a frown.

"Hello, Selphie." Riku says, his voice muffled by the girl's brown hair. He waits until she lets go to address the others. "Hello, Wakka, Lulu, nice to see you." He ignores Tidus.

"We brought friends." Axel unnecessarily announces.

"You brought them all the way from Twilight Town?" Selphie asks. "Neat-o! Introduce them!"

Axel clears his throat. "This is--"

"Zexion, Demyx, Kairi, Pence, Sora, and Roxas." Lulu interrupts, pointing to each of them as she says their names. A hint of a smirk tugs at her lips.

"Ah, Lulu! You can't just do that, ya!" Wakka exclaims. "It creeps people out! It creeps me out and I've known you for years."

"I won't simple stop, Wakka." Lulu says. "I can no more stop my Sight than you could stop playing Blitzball well." She rests her red eyes on the group from Twilight Town. "I will tell you this now so there will be no surprises later. I'm a witch."

"That doesn't bother us." Kairi says. "We're all pretty open-minded anyway. We kind of have to be after all the bizarre things that have happened to us."

"And my cousin Namine is a witch." Demyx speaks up.

"She is?" Axel whispers to Riku, who shrugs.

"I Connected with her once. She's a very kind person." Lulu says mysteriously. "When you get back tell her the Black Witch says 'hello'."

"Ooo! I remember her talking about you!" Demyx exclaims. "I remember because she wouldn't shut up about it and then I asked it you were evil and she told me that 'black' doesn't mean 'evil' just like 'white' doesn't mean 'good' and then she gave me cookies."

Lulu looks slightly amused.

Demyx flushes and looks away, searching for something to distract himself with. "Ooo! Water!" He yells before running out into the water.

The other watch, amused by his enthusiasm. While Demyx runs around in the water and Zexion goes to keep an eye on him, Riku and Axel take the time to better introduce everyone and slowly they begin splitting up into little groups.

* * *

Fun fact: Demyx gets high off of water. 

I watch as Demyx jumps into a wave only to get knocked backwards and dragged underwater for the hundredth time. Like all the times before he comes right back up with his trademark goofy grin.

I watch the sunlight dance off of his hair and skin, amplified by the water dripping down his body, and it almost makes me wish I was out there with him to hold him tight and leave no doubt in everyone's mind that he is mine.

I can't help but be a little possessive of him. We've known each other since we were little kids. Back then he was the one who protected me. He was my very first friend. He's… he's everything to me. It's frightening to think that without him I would fall apart.

Demyx. He's like the sun. He can cheer anyone up and gets along with nearly everyone. He's a social butterfly. He's energetic and always has a bright smile on his face. He sets aside his own emotions and feelings so that others can be happy, even if it means he doesn't get what he wants. He's not afraid to stand up for himself or for those he cares about. He's… everything that I am not.

But while he is everything I am not, I am everything he is not. I'm quiet and anti-social. I rarely smile or crack jokes. While I understand people and why they do the things they do, I can't comfort them and I find it hard to get along with others. I'm not afraid to push others aside to get what I want, as long as no one gets hurt badly.

Demyx is the sun and I am the moon. We rely on one another to keep ourselves balanced. Without one another…

"Zexion!"

I look up in time to see a wave crash into Demyx's back, nearly knocking him off his feet. He just laughs and beams at me.

"Come join me!" He yells.

I hesitate. I've never really "gotten along" with the water very well. But it is Demyx who is asking and he won't let anything happen to me. I let a rare smile cross my face and then go join him in the water.

Without one another… I'd rather not think of what would happen if we didn't have one another. I know, without a doubt, that we will always be there for each other. Because that's what best friends do.

* * *

Sora wiggles through a second story window so he can sit out on the roof. Once on the roof he crawls a little ways in search of a good place to see the moon from. He stops in his tracks when he comes across the sight of Riku laying on the roof, bathed in moonlight. 

He stares for a moment without realizing that he is staring. He snaps out of it when Riku sits up and looks over at him.

"Sora?" He asks. "What are you doing out here?"

"I wanted to look at the moon." Sora replies. "What are you doing out here?"

Riku looks back at the moon. "Just thinking… join me?"

Sora quietly crawls over to Riku and sits down next to him. For a while they just sit in silence, enjoying the view and company.

"Enjoying the beach?" Riku asks.

"Not as much as Demyx." Sora says with a smile. "But then, I don't know anyone who likes the water more than he does."

Riku chuckles. "True."

The two lapse into silence one again.

"Hey, Riku?" Sora breaks the silence after a few minutes. "I'm glad you invited me." He sleepily lays his head on Riku's shoulder.

Riku snakes his arm around Sora's shoulder. "And I'm glad you came."

The two remain that way until Axel interrupts in his usual loud fashion.

"Riku! You'll never guess what Tidus just did!"

Riku rolls his eyes and unwraps his arm from Sora's shoulders before Axel and can see poke fun at him for it. "What the hell did the moron do this time?"

Axel, in all his fiery, red-haired glory, sticks his head through a window. "Never mind that, just come look!" He blinks when he sees that Sora is sitting beside Riku. "Oh. Hey, Sora."

There's a loud yell, shortly followed by a 'bang' that makes the house rattle, and Axel's head disappears back through the window. From somewhere within the house comes a yell of, "Damn it, Tidus! You moron!"

Riku sighs and apologizes to Sora before he crawls back through the window to see what trouble the others are causing.

* * *

"Ha!" Sora expertly swings around his metallic weapon, aiming for Roxas's chest. 

In retaliation, Roxas blocks with his gothic black weapon and then aims a hit with his white one. Sora springs backwards just in time and then dances forward, trying to land a hit.

All of the others sit around in the sand, watching the two fight with their brand new weapons. Kairi affectionately runs her hands over her own weapon, although unlike they boy's, her doesn't look all that threatening. Demyx is humming as he runs his fingers over the strings of his new lap harp, while Zexion reads a large book.

"They're pretty good, ya." Wakka remarks. "But I bet our Riku could give them a run for their money."

"Riku already beat Roxas." Demyx says. "At least, that's what Sora told me." He plucks a string and winces at the sound. He carefully tightens it a little, plucking the string as he does so until it hit's the correct note.

Selphie looks over at Riku. "Ri! You should challenge Sora!" She exclaims. "We still have the wooden swords around here somewhere. It'd be so cool!" Her hand seeks out her jump rope, which is laying by her side. "And Axel can fight Roxas!"

Axel lazily scratches the back of his neck and takes his eyes off the fight for a moment to look over at Selphie. "My Chakrams are back in Twilight Town, Selphie."

Selphie sighs. "How disappointing. I would love to see a fight with Chakrams against those… those… umm…" She turns to look at Kairi. "What do you call those things?"

"Keyblades." Kairi replies. "Sora's is called 'Lionheart', Roxas's black one is Oblivion, and the white one is Oathkeeper. Mine doesn't have a name yet."

"Hey, Riku made up something similar once." Tidus says as he and Wakka begin tossing a blitzball back and forth. "What did you call that thing again? Something of the dawn?"

Riku's eyes widen. "Way to Dawn." He whispers. "I had forgotten."

"I bet if you gave the designs to Yuffie and nicely asked her to make it then she would." Pence says. "She might make you pay for it or help out, but then you'd have your own keyblade to fight against Sora with."

The sudden 'clang!" that rings through the air has them all turning to look at Sora and Roxas.

If the way Roxas has Sora pinned is any indication, the fight is over. The tips of Oblivion and Oathkeeper are buried firmly in the ground on either side of Sora's neck and then keyblade's themselves form an 'x', trapping Sora in place. Lionheart lays some distance away.

"Nice fight, guys!" Demyx yells.

Roxas pulls his keyblades from the sand with a grunt and rests Oathkeeper by his side so he can help Sora up. Once up on his feet, Sora runs over and retrieves Lionheart before he looks over at the rest of the group with a grin.

"Anyone else?" He cheerfully asks.

Riku stands up. "I will." He turns to Tidus and holds out a hand. "Sword?"

Tidus looks down at his stick-sword that is laying harmlessly on the sand and then looks back up at Riku. "But it'll break!"

"Riku."

Riku turns around just in time to catch Oblivion. "Are you sure?" He asks.

"If I wasn't then I wouldn't be letting you use it." Roxas says as he sits down right next to Axel.

Axel beams like a little kid who has just been told he can get all the candy he wants.

Riku gives Roxas his thanks and then walks out to where Sora is. He takes a few experimental swings and flips it around a bit so he can get a good feel for the weapon. When he's ready he takes his stance.

"Hey, Riku, lets make this fight more interesting." Sora says with a devious grin.

Riku almost gulps. So far he's learned that when Sora grins in that manner that nothing good can come of it. "Interesting how?" He asks cautiously.

"If I win, then you're my slave for two weeks." Sora says.

"Fine, and if I win then we go on a date." Riku replies.

"Deal!" Sora shouts before he runs foreward.

Everyone watches in fascination as they weave around one another, metal striking against metal in an almost rhythmic tune. Sun glints blindingly off the weapons, making it easier to slip up.

Suddenly Riku slips in the sand and his grip on Oblivion weakens enough that when Sora hits it with Lionheart it goes flying off into the sand.

"I win." Sora says triumphantly, pointing his weapon at Riku's heart. He lowers it and helps Riku up. "Okay, slave! Go fetch Oblivion!"

'_This,' _Riku thinks as he jogs over to pick up Oblivion. '_This is going to be a __**long **__two weeks.'_

_

* * *

_

Sora lays on 'his' bed at the rented house and looks down at Riku, who is making himself comfortable on the floor. "You know, you're being awful cool about this whole 'slave for two weeks' thing." He remarks.

Riku shrugs and fluffs up his pillow. "I trust you to not make me make a fool of myself or something."

"Really?" Sora asks. "You trust me?"

Riku nods. "Yeah."

There's a moment of silence in which Sora slips off the bed to sit next to Riku.

"Hey, Riku?"

"Hmm?" Riku regards Sora with cool eyes, although inside his heart races because of how close Sora is to him.

"When we get back, can we go on a date?" Sora asks.

Riku's heart leaps for joy and his eyes go wide. "R-really?" He asks, hoping - praying - that Sora isn't just kidding. To his relief, Sora nods and says, "Yeah."

Riku smiles. "Of course we can, Sora."

Sora gives Riku one of his 100 watt smiles and kisses him on the cheek before crawling back into his bed and turning out the light. Riku remains sitting up in shock for a few minutes before he lays down and goes to sleep.

* * *

End chapter

* * *

Anyone recall me saying that chapter 7 was probably going to be the longest? Well, this one has it beat. And I have to make this really really quick since I've got to get to an FFA meeting in, like, 30 minutes. 

I apologize for the long wait for this chapter. I got distracted by my goofy friends and spent the last 2 days hanging with them after school. We're such dorktards.


	14. Chapter 14

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Kingdom Hearts. It belongs to Square Enix and Disney. Damian and Isabella Miza; Ashling, Michael, Keegan, Isadora, Ivory, and Obsidian Lexus are mine. Roman Lexus belongs to my friend.

* * *

**It Must Be Destiny**

_Chapter 14_

**Burger Mart**

What remains of the snow steadily melts under the warm spring sun. The grass springs up, bright and green. Birds chirp as they perch happily on branches. All is peaceful.

Spring has arrived.

"Firehaven, hurry up with those burgers!"

Riku glares at the greasy, flat meat products with obvious distaste. It's the first long day in months and he's stuck inside a grease out cooking burgers and deep-frying fries. 'This cannot get any worse.'

"Firehaven! Hurry it up!"

Riku mutters something decidedly not nice about the manager and hastily scrapes the burgers up and smacks them onto buns. 'All I wanted to do today was get up, go outside all day, and hang out with my boyfriend.' A smile crosses his face at the thought of his loveable, cheerful brunet.

"Firehaven!" The manager yells. "Up front, now! Smith, switch with Firehaven!"

"I hate lunch hour." Riku mutters as he makes his way to the cash register.

"Don't we all." Jesse Smith remarks as he walks past.

* * *

**Hope Nursery**

Axel hums a little tune as he waters the greenhouse plants at the local nursery he works at. The warmth of the greenhouse and the sun shining through the glass only serves to amplify his good mood.

"Hello, Axel!"

Axel looks up to see one of his co-workers, Isabella Mizu, running toward him. He winces when she trips over her own two feet and falls on the hard concrete. She uses one of the many benches to help herself up. "Floor's wet." She says sheepishly.

Axel chuckles. "So it is." He continues to water the plants, not paying the petite blond much attention.

"The plants feel so happy." Isabelle says happily, carefully checking the leaves of the ferns for any signs of disease or bugs. "They know spring is right around the corner."

Axel nods. "Yeah. Spring. I can't wait for the warm weather, can you?"

Isabella shrugs. "I prefer the cold, to tell you the truth. But today," She looks outside longingly. "Today is perfect."

"I'm guessing you have plans." Axel says, turning around to water a bench of seedlings.

"Damian and I are going out on a picnic with the Lexus's." Isabella says.

Axel nods.

Damian is Isabella's husband and the Lexus's are a young family of seven. The oldest is Roman Lexus Jr., who is twenty-five. His wife is Ashling, who turned twenty-two recently. And then there's their five children: the five-year-old triplets Michael, Keegan, and Isadora; the four-year-old Ivory; and two-year-old Obsidian.

"Sooo…."

Axel almost sighs at the tone she uses, knowing she's either up to no good or is searching for information and doesn't really know how to go about doing so and so is just going to be blunt about it.

"How goes your quest to date the blond you talk about all the time?" Isabella asks.

Axel shrugs, not really in the mood to talk about it. "Better. We're actually friends now and he trusts me, so that's good. Why?"

"No reason." Isabella says, continuing to check the plants. "Just give him time, Axel. He'll come around. I can't even begin to tell you how much trouble Damian and I had when we first started out."

Axel looks over at her, slightly interesting in what she has to say. Plus he's bored. Watering plants in a greenhouse for hours isn't the most interesting or fun job in the world. "Bella, we have all afternoon of nothing but walking around the greenhouse taking care of plants." He says, making sure to thoroughly soak a particularly dry batch of seedlings. It would be bad news if any of the seedlings got dry. "Talk away. Maybe you'll end up giving me good advice."

Isabella smiles and begins her story.

* * *

**28 days until Opening Night**

The drama club has reached the final month of preparation for their big play. Things are beyond hectic in the auditorium and in the drama classroom. People are running every which way with clipboards, props, scripts, and all sorts of other things. Directions and questions ricochet around at breakneck speed, confusing even the most experienced drama club member.

Axel, Demyx, Sora, Kairi, Naminé, and Marluxia are right in the thick of it all. They see one another very rarely and even more rarely have a chance to stop and just breath. Axel and Demyx are the busiest, as they have to run back and forth between the auditorium and classroom to oversee the props and clothes. Sora spends most of his time in the auditorium helping the actors project the right emotion in the lines and making sure the costumes are just right. Kairi is one of the actors and she also helps out Sora when she's not up on stage. Marluxia is working on the lighting, curtains, and sound board, and calls Pence for advice when something goes too wrong. After being called over and over again for an hour, Pence hurries over to the school to help out. Naminé is busy backstage working on backgrounds.

By the time they're all finally able to go home, there's still a large amount of stuff that needs to be done, but it's considerably less than it was before.

* * *

**17 days until Opening Night**

Everyone taking part in making the play work is exhausted, but at the same time deliriously happy. Preparations for the play are almost complete and they no longer have to spend at least three hours after school every day to work on it. It's gone from every day after school and Saturday's to Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday.

But all of the stress of the deadline is taking it's toll on the drama students and many of them have fallen ill or have pulled out due to lack of sleep.

Mrs. Heartstone, known to some of her students as just 'Aerith', is beginning to panic.

* * *

**3 days until Opening Night**

Now Aerith is freaking out. Nearly half of the drama students have fallen ill or have been pulled out of production by their parents. Naminé is among the ill and it's very distracting to Marluxia, who insists on calling to check up on her every fifteen minutes.

All major details for the play have been worked out, but many small details remain. After school time increases back to three hours, with a half hour food break, but doesn't change from the Tuesday-Thursday-Saturday plan.

Everyone is exhausted beyond belief but not about to give up when they've come so far. They work extra hard and are extra careful with the small details because messing up a small detail can cause a major problem.

Seeing her students working so hard helps Aerith calm down a little.

* * *

**Opening Night**

Many words can be used to describe the atmosphere of opening night: tense, chaotic, excited, nervous, stressful, motivational… most of which Aerith is feeling. This is the biggest and most controversial play ever performed at the school and she has no idea how well it will go over. The fact that several of the actors are unable to make it makes it even more daunting.

She walks briskly down the hallway, her layered pink skirt swirling around her legs and brown boots. Green eyes remain focused on the door to the drama classroom where her students are waiting for her to give them her motivational pep talk. The door swings open before she reaches it and Sora bounds out. He soon spots her and hurries over to her with his usual smile plastered onto his face.

"Aerith!" He gleefully yells. "Zack's here! And so are Cloud and Leon and my parents! And Roxas!"

Aerith smiles weakly, unable to manage an actual smile. "That's wonderful, Sora. Are all of your friends here?"

Sora nods. "Yup! They're all out in the audience now. Although I think Axel dragged Roxas off to show him something. Oh! And Riku and Axel's parents are here too! They're both really nice. You should meet them!"

Aerith can't help but smile. At the high level it's at, Sora's excitement is contagious and helps ebb away at her nervousness and fears. That's the one thing she adores about Sora; whenever someone needs cheering up he does it without even trying.

"Sora, thank you." Aerith says warmly. "Now, what do you say we go round up everyone and get everything ready for scene one. We go on in twenty minutes."

Sora nods and rushes back into the drama classroom, leaving Aerith to follow after him at her own pace. She stands straight and tall and then walks proudly into the classroom to talk to her students.

* * *

Sora ducks out of sight beneath the curtain in hopes of escaping his friends and family, who, just seconds before, swarmed around him to congratulate him on a play well written. Despite the fact that the two lead characters were two guys who fell in love, (one of which was played by Kairi) everyone loved the play. Well, there are some who hated it and left before it was over, but everyone who matters stayed to watch and enjoyed it. 

"Hey."

Sora whirls around and beams when he sees Riku. He yells out his boyfriend's name and rushes into his arms, relishing the comfort he receives. Riku chuckles and shivers run down Sora's spine at the vibrations that roll across his skin.

"You did a wonderful job with the play." Riku says. "I have to admit I wasn't expecting anything like that. How'd you come up with that?"

"A dream." Sora says, almost wistfully. "At least, I think it was a dream. Sometimes it's so clear and the emotions are so strong that it feels more like a memory. A far off memory… But it can't be a memory! I mean, if it was a memory then you, me, and Kairi would have grown up together on Destiny Island and we wouldn't be friends with anyone here in Twilight Town except for maybe Aerith and Yuffie and Leon and Cloud. Sort of. And--"

"Sora." Riku lays a finger over the brunet's lips to shut him up. "Whatever it is, it's in the past. It doesn't matter now."

Sora relaxes. "Yeah. You're right.

"Of course I am." Riku says with a smirk. "Now, I think you deserve a celebratory dinner. And if you don't mind, I believe Demyx, Zexion, Axel, and Roxas will be joining us."

Sora looks excited. "Really? That'll be great! You know, if Roxas and Axel were dating then it'd be like a triple date." He steps away from Riku and smiles up at him. "I think Roxas is starting to consider dating Axel. I bet if Axel were to ask him out he'd say yes." He winks.

Riku smiles and leads Sora back around backstage. "Then I guess I'll have to let that little fact slip to Axel. This is the chance he's been looking for."

"Can I tell him?" Sora asks eagerly.

"Only if you can do so quietly." Riku replies, right before he and Sora are bombarded by questions and comments from friends and family.

* * *

Nearly a hour later the six boys find themselves at a pizza shop in downtown Twilight Town. An extra-large supreme pizza sets in the middle of the table, already half-eaten/ 

"Okay guys, shut up for a minute!" Axel says as he stands up, drink in hand. "I propose a toast! A toast to our wonderful play writer, Sora Strife, without whom the play that was a such a great hit tonight never would have been."

Sora blushes and sinks down in his seat when the others raise their glasses in a toast and then take a drink.

"And one more thing." Axel says as he sets his drink down on the table. "I am pleased to announce that Roxas has agreed to be my boyfriend and our first date will be this Saturday!"

Demyx, Sora, and Riku loudly cheer while Axel sits down with a pleased grin. Zexion politely claps and stops when Demyx lets loose an ear piercing whistle. The six quickly fall silent before someone comes over and asks them to leave because they're being too loud.

"It's about time!" Demyx says with a wide grin on his face. "I only wish you two had started dating earlier. I lost twenty bucks to Luxord's pool."

Sora looks at Demyx in shock. "You've been _gambling_? And with _Luxord _of all people!"

Demyx shrugs. "It's not like I do it that often. And Larxene, Xemnas, Xigbar, Naminé, Marluxia, and Yuffie placed bets too! Yuffie lost months ago and Naminé lost two weeks ago. I lost just last week. Larxene totally lost. She said you guys would never get together. Xemnas said you'd get together next fall. Marluxia placed a bet on this Saturday and Xigbar actually guessed _today_."

Roxas's jaw drops. "Xigbar actually won?!" He exclaims. "Xigbar _never _wins!"

"Well he did this time." Demyx says. "Damn," He curses with a sigh. "I can't believe I lost twenty bucks to Xigbar."

"Marluxia's going to fight this bet when he finds out the actual date isn't until Saturday." Sora says. "I can just hear the argument now."

"At least we won't have Naminé complaining about him gambling this time." Roxas mutters.

"Yeah, that was scary." Demyx says, shuddering. "Who'd of thought that Naminé could be that scary. I didn't even know she could get mad like that and she's my cousin!"

Sora leans forward and gets another large piece of pizza and begins chowing down. Demyx, Zexion, Roxas, and Riku don't pay that any attention, completely used to it. Axel stares for a moment.

"Damn, Sora! That's your fifth slice!" He exclaims.

"That's nothing." Demyx says, picking up his crust to nibble on it. "You've never seen him scarf down an entire large pizza and another half of a pizza. I think one time he ate an entire two pizza's."

"It was for a good cause!" Sora says defensively. "Kind of."

The others laugh. For the rest of the night they sit there and talk and eat and carry on until the pizza shop closes.

* * *

Riku and Axel arrive home tired and in high spirits and with full bellies. After a whole day of things going perfectly and being excited and running around nearly all day, all they want to do is go to bed and sleep. 

Unfortunately, fate is against them this night.

"Riku! Axel! Welcome home!" Mr. Firehaven says warmly from his spot on the couch beside his wife. "Have a seat. We have something to tell you."

Axel yawns and nearly falls over as he attempts to take off his shoes. "Can't it wait until morning? I got up early this morning and all I want to do right now is sleep."

Mr. Firehaven shakes his head. "This won't take too long. Sit."

Riku and Axel sleepily sit down on the smaller couch, wondering what's so important that it can't wait until the morning.

"Boys, we know that moving here has been hard on you and it took you so long to adjust to living here," Mr. Firehaven begins gently. "But we've decided that we want the baby to be born on Destiny Island just like the four of us were."

"We're moving back to Destiny Islands!" Mrs. Firehaven happily exclaims.

Riku and Axel stare at their parents in shock and horror. Axel doesn't know whether to laugh hysterically or bawl his eyes out and Riku's mind just goes completely blank.

"Isn't that wonderful?" Mrs. Firehaven asks, beaming. "You'll be able to go to school with all your old friends again! And you won't have to deal with the cold anymore."

Inside Riku's head the blankness changes to blinding white fury and he glares at his parents before he stomps upstairs. Axel follows mere milliseconds later, before he does something that he might regret.

And so ends the once "perfect" night.

* * *

End Chapter

* * *

Well, I am both happy and sad to announce that there are only a few chapters of this story remaining. I have the remaining chapters all mapped out already and it shouldn't take me too long to write them. This story will end with chapter 16. There will be no epilogue, but you'll see why when the chapter 16 comes. I highly doubt that there will be a sequel to this. 

There are three other ideas for KH fics that I'm playing around with right now, but I think that after this I'll concentrate on **Herutsu no Oukoku** instead of starting something new. When I decide it's time for a new story then be on the lookout for one called "Angel in Disguise". It'll be an AkuRoku story with slight bits and pieces of RikuSora. Although before that there may be a few one-shots I post, but who knows how that will go.


	15. Chapter 15

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Kingdom Hearts. It belongs to Square Enix and Disney.

* * *

**It Must Be Destiny**

_Chapter 15_

Moving is always a hard thing. Most of your time becomes devoted to packing things up in boxes and trying to keep things organized. The route to the new house must be planned out and transportation for all possessions must be found. And then once you arrive at the new house you're exhausted and everything's a mess and there are more boxes than one knows what to do with. Then there's unpacking and signing up for school and, if it's not the reason you're moving, finding a job.

All of that is hard enough on its own. When you add in friends that you are close to, friends that you are used to hanging out with every day, it gets even harder to move away because then emotions are more tied in.

And knowing that by moving away you have to leave the one you love behind is the worst feeling in the world.

* * *

Axel sluggishly packs piles upon piles of clothes into a large box labeled "Axel's Clothes". Every now and then he comes across something of Riku's and shrugs before putting it in the box with the rest of his clothes.

Mr. Firehaven walks past Axel's door and pauses outside when he sees the depressed state his oldest son is in. "Cheer up, Axel." He says. "Things will turn around for you. For both of you." He amends as Riku roughly throws his box of clothes into the hallway.

"Yeah, yeah." Axel mutters dispassionately, not really listening to his dad. In his eyes his parents are the ones dragging him away from his Roxas.

His Roxas. Axel pauses a moment to think on the thought, not noticing that his dad has moved on to talk to Riku. _'My Roxas.' _The name rolls easily off his mental tongue and he smiles_. 'Roxas is mine and I am Roxas's. Not in a manner of possession but…'_

Belonging.

The word whispers across his senses and Axel immediately knows it's the word he's looking for. "Belonging…" He whispers aloud.

Axel hastily finishes packing his clothes, setting some aside to wear until they get back to Destiny Island. Then he rushes off to go visit Roxas with barely a word to Riku or his parents.

* * *

Riku moves stealthily through the Strife's yard until he's under Roxas and Sora's bedroom window. He glances around to see if anyone is watching and breathes a sigh of relief when he sees no lights on. He looks up at the window and carefully judges the distance before he fishes a few clay beads from his pocket and throws them at the window one at a time.

After a few minutes the window opens and piercing blue eyes glare out into the dim light right at Riku. "What are you thinking?!" Roxas hisses angrily. "It's one in the morning, Riku!"

"Riku?"

Roxas disappears from the window and Sora happily takes his place. His face splits into a wide grin and he waves happily down at Riku, any sleepiness forgotten. "What are you doing down here?" He whispers down.

"I came to see you." Riku quietly says. "Can you come down?"

Sora nods and mere seconds later a rope ladder is lowered out the window and Sora cheerfully descends so he can spend time with Riku. Roxas watches from the window as the two talk for a minute and then run off into the sunset night. Then he sleepily crawls back into bed, hoping that Axel never wakes him up that early in the morning.

* * *

Sora looks around the park in awe. When they were kids, he and Roxas and Cloud would always go play at the park every afternoon. As they grew up he would go to the park in search of inspiration during the day. Never before has he thought of trying to capture the beauty of the park at night. Not until now.

The dim light of the sun filters through the trees in warm shades of red, orange, and yellow. Occasionally he catches sight of the slightest hint of pink or a red-violet color. Night butterflies, creatures found only in Twilight Town, flutter over the flowers, adding colors of blue, green, and violet.

"It's beautiful." Sora whispers, tearing his eyes away from the landscape to look at Riku. He's momentarily taken aback by the love radiating off of Riku and how the light only accents how handsome he is.

"When I was younger my parents would always tell us the story of how they met and how dad proposed and how dad wished he had proposed." Riku says, his voice soft. "And one day Axel came up with the idea to think of where we'd take the one we'd fall in love with. Axel chose the beach. He's never been too fond of the water, but he's always loved the feel of the beach." He pauses. "I chose the park."

Sora's breath catches in his throat and his thought process grinds to a halt.

"Later we decided to choose the perfect time. Axel chose the sunset on the night of a full moon." Riku says. "I chose nighttime with no particular moon in mind. And now that I think of it, that's a good thing since here we very rarely see the moon.

Sora's heart pounds fiercely in his chest as Riku looks down at him with loving green eyes. His legs nearly give out as Riku walks over to him and gently takes his hand, not once breaking eye contact.

"Sora, I love you."

* * *

**Moving Day- 6:55 am**

Three houses on Twilight Street are buzzing with energy early on a Saturday morning. It's moving day for the Firehaven family and they're suppose to leave early to beat the moving truck to Destiny Island. There's only one problem.

Riku and Axel are missing.

Mrs. Firehaven is alternating between screaming angrily at her husband and sobbing for her "precious babies" to come home. Mr. Firehaven is trying his best to console his wife while listening to Yuffie and the others, who have come to see off the Firehaven's, try to think up a plan of action.

"The best way for us to do this is to split up." Olette says wisely. "There's enough of us that we can all split up and cover a lot of ground in a short amount of time. Five of us will stay here in town. Two of us will take the tunnels. The other six will check Sunset. Three of those six will take the train and the rest will take the tunnel." She says. "And lets have no couples in the same group so no one is tempted to make out instead of search." She looks pointedly at Yuffie and Rikku.

"Sounds good." Kairi says. "I'll take the far side of Sunset out toward the hill."

"I'll go to Sunset High." Sora volunteers.

Within minutes everyone has a place to search and has left to go search. Kairi, Sora, and Demyx are taking the tunnels to Sunset while Olette, Marluxia, and Roxas take the train to Sunset. Yuffie, Pence, Zexion, Naminé, and Larxene stay in Twilight Town to search, leaving Rikku and Hayner with the tunnels.

* * *

Kairi's lungs burn as she sprints out of the tunnels and into the bright sunlight of Sunset Terrace. She's vaguely aware of Sora on her right and Demyx to her left running right alongside her before they split off into different directions.

Kairi slows down a little and begins looking around for Axel's bright red hair or Riku's snow white hair. Her heart hammers in her chest and the pounding of her pink sneakers against the ground echoes in her head. She runs down into the courtyard area and pauses momentarily to see if either of the boys are there. When she sees neither of them she turns around and heads for Sunset Hill. At the top she stops and shouts out in joy and relief. "Riku!"

Riku turns around, his eyes wide. "Kairi!"

Kairi is shocked to see tears rolling down his face. "Oh, Riku…" She says softly. Relying purely on instinct, she walks forward and hugs him.

Riku latches on to her, seeing her as a form of comfort and somehow knowing that she'll understand how he feels.

"I love him so much, Kai." Riku whispers. "So damn much."

"I know, Riku." Kairi whispers back. "It'll be okay. You'll find a way. I know you will. And if you don't figure something out soon enough then Sora will. Or I will. There's only a few months left until summer. We'll be able to go visit you then."

Riku remains silent and continues hugging Kairi. Kairi falls silent as well and gives Riku all the comfort she can. Never can it be said that Kairi doesn't care about her friends.

After a few minutes Riku pulls away from Kairi and gives her a weak smile. "Thank you." He whispers.

"Anytime." Kairi says. "Ready to go back? Your mom was pretty hysterical when I left."

Riku nods. "Yeah, lets go."

* * *

Sora jogs into the schoolyard looking only for the bright red color of Axel's hair, having a feeling that the redhead is somewhere nearby. He jogs slowly past the front gates and heads over to where he usually hangs out with the others every morning. His eyes land on the wall that he, Axel, and Demyx sit on during the mornings and impulsively decides to check it and see if Axel is hiding behind it. He hops deftly over the wall and lands in front of his friend, who doesn't even look up at him.

"Axel, you've got to snap out of it." Sora says. "I know you don't want to go and I don't want you to go either. But running away… that… that isn't the answer." He sighs and leans against the wall. "I know this may not mean much, but I know how you feel. Roxas, Cloud, and I used to live out in Traverse Town. We grew up there and had some really close friends. Well, about as close as six-year-olds can get."

Axel looks up at Sora, a little curious about where the story will lead.

"A year or two later we had finally settled in and Roxas and I met Pence, Olette, Demyx, and Zexion and Cloud met Zack, Aerith, and Tifa, who you haven't met yet. One day Demyx came into class and told us all about these funny new neighbors they got and how they claimed to be from a ninja clan." Sora says.

Axel's eyes widen and he waits for Sora to say who it is, although he already has an idea.

"Roxas and I practically begged Demyx to let us come over. Those two girls sounded so familiar to us that we just had to check." Sora says. "And of course, I'm sure you've guessed who the two were. It was Kairi and Yuffie, who we had grown up with in Traverse Town. Neither me or Roxas ever expected to see them again and yet there they were, right back with us."

"Fat chance of that happening again." Axel says dismally.

Sora puts his hands on his hips. "Axel, you've got to look for the bright side of things! Destiny Island isn't so far away that we'll never see each other again! Roxas and I can even go visit you this summer and then maybe during winter break! And you and Riku only have one more year of high school. After that you can move back here and go to Sunrise University or Twilight Tech or something."

Axel weakly chuckles. "You always have to find the bright side to things, don't you?"

Sora nods. "Of course! Besides, if I don't look for the bright side then who would? And it's easier than you think to find the bright side of things."

Axel is silent for a moment. "You'll really come visit over the summer?" He asks hopefully.

"Promise." Sora replies. "You couldn't keep us away if you tried!"

Axel smiles. "Okay, good."

Sora holds out a hand to help Axel up. "Ready to go?"

Axel takes a deep breath and slowly lets it out before he nods and takes Sora's hand. "Lets go."

* * *

"I don't want you to leave!" Demyx cries, suddenly throwing his arms around Axel's waist in a tight embrace. "Don't leave me!" He wails.

Most of the group has to stifle laughter at the look of discomfort on Axel's face. None of them can tell if Demyx is being serious or if he's only acting. He can be a great actor when he wants to be.

"Demyx, you're an embarrassment. Let go of him." Zexion says, trying to hide a smile.

Demyx's wailing turns to laughter and he lets go of Axel and steps back "Sorry." He apologizes through laughter. "I couldn't resist. I really will miss you though."

"I'll miss you too, Demyx." Axel says. "All of you."

Mrs. Firehaven impatiently honks the horn. "Boys, we need to go so we'll arrive before the movers!" She yells out the window.

"We're coming!" Axel yells back crossly.'

"Come on guys, lets give them some room to be all kissy-kissy with their boyfriends." Rikku teasingly says as she pulls Yuffie over to the side.

Hayner rolls his eyes. "You just want to be all lovey-dovey with Yuffie." He accuses.

Rikku laughs and chirps, "Yup!". Then she kisses Yuffie soundly on the lips.

The others laugh or roll their eyes but move away to give room to Riku and Sora and Axel and Roxas so they can say their goodbyes more privately. Roxas simply unabashedly pulls Axel down for a long kiss while Sora lets Riku wrap his arms around him in a hug and then gently kiss him.

None of them notice the red minivan with a woman with kind light blue eyes and brown hair driving.

The goodbyes soon come to an end as Mrs. Firehaven honks the horn for the second time. Axel and Riku solemnly get into the car and, as they drive away, they look back at their friends for the last time.

Yuffie and Rikku, usually two of the most cheerful of the group, both look to be holding back tears. Demyx is sobbing openly into Zexion's chest while the gray-haired male tightly hugs him and looks anywhere but at the car. Kairi and Naminé are standing as close to their boyfriends as they can possibly get. Marluxia looks upset while he hugs Naminé, although whether it's because Axel and Riku are leaving or because Naminé is upset is hard to tell. Olette and Pence look sad to see them go, while Hayner tries to make it seem like he doesn't care. Larxene truly doesn't care at all and if she does then she's really, really, really good at hiding it.

And then there are Sora and Roxas, who have turned to each other for support. The two hold hands and hold back tears while they watch their boyfriends drive away.

* * *

Squall bites back a yawn as he sinks down into the comfiest piece of furniture in the whole house. It's not even noon and he's already completely exhausted thanks to his job. Thankfully, he has someone who can cheer him right up.

He looks up just in time to see Cloud walking toward him with a hint of a smile on his face. The blond sits gracefully on the couch and leans against Squall with a soft sigh.

"You look tired." Cloud remarks, closing his eyes briefly.

"Exhausted." Squall replies.

Clouds eyes flicker open and take on a devious spark as he looks up at Squall. "I think I can fix that. Of course, you may be even more tired when I'm through."

Squall chuckles. "Is that so? I think I can live with that." He says before leaning down and capturing Cloud's lips in a kiss.

The simple kiss easily escalates to making out right there on the couch with Cloud crawling into Squall's lap so he can straddle his boyfriend's hips. The sound of the door being unlocked from the outside makes them pause momentarily.

"It's just the twins." Cloud mutters before kissing Squall again.

He couldn't be more wrong. They both find out just how wrong he was moments later when Mrs. Strife walks into the room and screams. And this time they get the feeling that their old excuse of "we're just wrestling" won't work this time.

* * *

Roxas and Sora return home to find their mom waiting for them in the living room with Squall and Cloud. The two get the feeling that something isn't right.

"Have a seat, boys." Mrs. Strife says in a strained voice. "I want to talk to you about something."

Sora and Roxas cautiously sit down on the couch beside Squall and Cloud.

"I was on my way home today, early for the first time in ages and hoping to spend some time with my boys, when I happen to drive by a rather… unsettling scene." Her blue eyes land on Sora and Roxas, who both stiffen up.

"Sora, Roxas, do either of you have something to tell me?" Mrs. Strife asks.

"L-like what?" Sora stutters, hoping that she's referring to sometime other than him kissing Riku and Roxas kissing Axel.

"Like, perhaps, why I saw you kissing that Riku boy. Or why I saw Roxas kissing Axel." Mrs. Strife says, crossing her arms over her chest. "Or why I came home to find Leon and Cloud making out on the couch."

A stunned silence fills the air. None of the brothers or Squall know what to say.

"Well?" Mrs. Strife prompts.

Squall stands up. "Mrs. Strife, Cloud and I are dating. We have been for nearly two years now." He glances down at Cloud and then looks back at Mrs. Strife. "I love him more than anyone else in the world." He says. "And nothing will ever change that."

Mrs. Strife regards Squall for a moment and then looks to her two youngest.

"I-" Sora swallows and tries again. "I love Riku. We haven't been dating for anywhere near as long as Cloud and Leon, but I know I love him."

"Axel and I are dating." Roxas says, his voice steady.

Mrs. Strife looks at each of her boys, her gaze steely. Then it softens and she smiles. "Now, if you had told me this from the very beginning then we wouldn't have had to go through this."

Sora's jaw drops. "But you're always talking about wanting grandchildren! We can't- We're guys! We can't have babies!"

Mrs. Strife uncrosses her arms and thoughtfully taps her chin. "Well, that is true. But you could always adopt!"

Roxas wrinkles his nose. "I don't want children."

"Well I do." Sora says. "I wonder if Riku does…"

Roxas sighs. "Sora, for you Riku would do anything. You know that."

"Why didn't any of you tell me?" Mrs. Strife asks. "Did you really think I'd be angry or disappointed with you? You three are my wonderful boys and I am so proud of you. And Leon, you've been around so much that you're like a park of the family as well. If I had to choose any guy for Cloud to be with it'd be you. Or someone like you."

"What about dad?" Cloud asks. "He won't like this."

"I'll deal with your father when he gets home. Which should be next week, come to think of it." Mrs. Strife says.

Sora looks excited. "Dad's coming home? Really?"

Mrs. Strife nods. "That's right. He called last night to say that he'll be home by next Wednesday. He's looking forward to seeing all of us. Even you, Leon."

Squall looks a little surprised. "Me?" He asks as he sits back down beside Cloud, getting as close as he dares.

"I did tell you that we consider you a part of our family." Mrs. Strife reminds. She suddenly clasps her hands together. "And just think! When you and Cloud get married you really will be part of the family!" She squeals. "I should call Melody and tell her the good news! Oh, this is so exciting!"

"You don't mean Melody Kaiyou as in Demyx and Larxene's mother, do you?" Cloud asks, paling at the thought of his mom and Mrs. Kaiyou getting together to talk. Lets just say that the last time that happened Demyx, Sora, Roxas, and Cloud ended up completely embarrassed.

"Of course!" Mrs. Strife cheerfully replies. "I wonder how Demyx and Zexion would feel about a double wedding." She ponders out loud, though it's in a teasing tone instead of a serious one.

Cloud groans and drops his head into his hands while Squall looks horrified at the very idea. Mrs. Strife laughs at the expressions on their faces and Sora and Roxas soon join in, knowing that their mom was just kidding. Squall and Cloud soon catch on as well and get a good laugh out of it.

* * *

End Chapter

* * *

I swear, after writing a bunch for this chapter and the next chapter in just 3 days has completely zapped away my creative energy. Damn. I'm not even finished with the next chapter, even though it's already, like, 6 going on 7 pages long. Well, that should help me reach of goal of this thing being 50,000 words. The only good thing about these past few days is that it's good practice for November. Oh, I can tell already that November is going to be hell for me this year. But I just can't not participate in NaNoWriMo! I've been excited about that since before summer!

I guess I'll just have to wear lots of purple. It's suppose to be a color for creativity and inspiration, which is good for me since darling Damian's favorite color is purple and he's my muse. Yay for my purple inspiration-filled muse!

So, depending on how long it takes me to type up the next chapter, which will probably end up being 10 sheets of paper or something, the next/last chapter should be up sometime this week. You'll be lucky if it gets up before Friday. Very lucky.

Oh, and a warning about the next chapter. Okay, maybe 2 warnings. First of all it's the very last chapter. And second of all, it's going to be long as fuck. (if you haven't already gathered that.) So for the next chapter make sure you have plenty of time to sit down and read it so you don't have to stop and go back and find your place.

Just thought you should know.


	16. Chapter 16

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Kingdom Hearts. It belongs to Square Enix and Disney.

Shiro: Again, I'll warn you that this is an **extremely** long chapter. It's 11 pages in Times New Roman size 11 font. It's also the very last chapter, so sit back and enjoy!

* * *

**It Must Be Destiny**

_Chapter 16_

Reno stands back, hands in his pockets, and watches his two younger cousins carry boxes into a homey, brick apartment building. He smirks and waves whenever the two glare at him and he vaguely wonders how long it'll take before one or both of them yells at him.

Sure enough…

"Reno! Get over here and help us! Half of this crap is yours!" Axel yells.

Reno just pretends to yawn and checks the time. "My five minute break isn't up yet." He says lazily.

Riku rolls his eyes. "Ass." He mutters good naturedly. "Your so-called five minute break has lasted twenty-"

"Damn minutes!" Axel interrupts. "Now get your lazy-"

"No good." Riku helpfully adds.

"-ass over here now!" Axel finishes.

Reno shrugs and walks over to the truck, where he resumes standing around and doing nothing. Before Axel can yell any more, Riku shoves a box into Reno's arms and pushes him toward the apartment building.

"Make yourself useful for once and take that inside." The white-haired boy says.

"But this isn't even mine." Reno complains, trying to get on Riku's nerves. "It's labeled 'Axel's Stuff'."

"Doesn't matter." Riku says, lifting another box from the truck. "Axel and I have been carrying in all your crap so I think you can manage one box."

Fed up with Reno purposely being annoying, Riku drops the box labeled 'Reno's Clothes' right on Reno's foot and snags the box the redhead is holding. He carries it inside while listening to the satisfactory yowls of pain coming from his cousin.

* * *

Kairi, Roxas, Sora, Pence, Olette, and Hayner lounge boredly in the Usual Spot. Hayner and Roxas dully throw darts at the small dart board, not even getting into an argument when their darts collide. Sora sketches away in his newly acquired sketchbook, but he lacks the usual fervor with which he draws. Kairi, Pence, and Olette are sitting on the couch together and are alternating between watching Roxas and Hayner throw darts and trying to figure out what Sora is drawing.

"You know, I heard that someone finally moved into the old Johanson apartment." Olette remarks. "My mom's friend says she saw three guys taking boxes in the other day."

"So we have three new guys in town?" Kairi asks.

Olette shrugs. "I'm not sure. Maybe we can send Demyx out with 'welcome to the town' cookies."

"Or Roxas and I could go." Sora speaks up, continuing to sketch away in his sketchpad. "That building is just a few blocks away. It wouldn't take us too long to walk down there."

Naminé suddenly dashes through the gate of the Usual Spot, her eyes wide and her hair askew. "Guys!" She shouts, fear in her voice. "You've got to get down to the Sandlot! It's Seifer!"

Hayner and Roxas curse and jump up before they rush past Naminé. Sora, Pence, Olette, Kairi, and Naminé soon follow to make sure Roxas and Hayner don't get in over their heads with Seifer.

Down at the Sandlot they find Roxas and Hayner already facing off with Seifer and his two lackeys, Fuu and Rai. Marluxia stands behind Roxas and Hayner, nursing a split lip while Rikku fusses over Yuffie, who got into a little scuffle with Fuu.

Naminé hurries over to Marluxia while fishing a handkerchief from the pocket of her white jeans. While she wipes away the blood, Sora and Kairi join Hayner and Roxas and Olette and Pence hang back with Rikku and Yuffie.

"Well look who it is." Seifer says, smirking. "The two boy-toys, the princess, and the hot-head. Come to rescue your little gay friends?"

"You shut your mouth!" Roxas yells.

"You'll pay for hurting Marluxia and Yuffie." Kairi says fiercely. "Especially Marluxia. He's not involved in these stupid fights so don't try to include him now!"

"It's not Seifer's fault he got involved, y'know." Rai protests.

"So what? Almasy started to swing and Marluxia jumped in the way of the punch?" Hayner sneers. "Give me a break!"

Seifer cracks his knuckles, which makes the other four go on the defensive. "Oh, I'll give you a break." He pulls his hand back and aims for Hayner.

Everyone waits for the tell-tale sound of Seifer's fist hitting Hayner's cheek, but it never comes. Instead everyone stares in shock at the person who has caught Seifer's fist.

"This doesn't seem very fair." Comes the familiar lazy drawl of Reno Firehaven. "And if I recall correctly, isn't there a rule against fist fighting in the Sandlot?"

Seifer jerks his arm out of Reno's grip and turns around and walks away.

"Seifer's not feeling so hot, y'know." Rai says defensively. "Because he could take all of you easily!"

"Complete decimation." Fuu agrees.

Reno smirks. "Keep telling yourselves that. One day you'll see."

Without another word Fuu and Rai walk off to join Seifer in the back alley where they usually hang out.

"Reno, what are you doing here?" Sora asks. "Riku and Axel don't live around here any--" He cuts himself off as his eyes widen. He looks at Reno hopefully. "Are they with you? Please tell me Riku and Axel came with you!"

"Sorry, kiddo." Reno apologizes. "I couldn't get them to come into town with me. Those two are busy planning something but I have no idea what it could be."

Sora and Roxas both look disappointed.

"Oh." Sora says dejectedly. "Well, when you talk to them tell Riku I miss him."

Roxas's disappointed expression turns to one of anger. "Yeah, and you can tell Axel that I have a few choice words for him and none of them are very nice."

"I'll pass on your messages." Reno says, edging away from Roxas in case the blond decides to hit him. "Anyone else have a message?"

No one else has any messages other than "tell them we miss them" so Reno says goodbye and heads for home with a slight smirk on his face.

"Now I miss them even more." Sora says sadly. "I wonder why they didn't come. They should know it doesn't matter to us whether they have something big planned or not. I just want to see him."

Kairi frowns as she watches Reno's retreating form. "Yeah, weird." She says distractedly.

"Something wrong, Kairi?" Pence asks.

"Something about what he said seems off." Kairi says. "The wording of it, I mean. I'll be right back."

Before anyone can protest or ask a question, Kairi runs after Reno. The others watch as she catches up to him and asks him something and smiles at the reply she gets. She stays over there for a minute or two before rejoining her friends.

"What was that about?" Yuffie asks. "And why do you look so happy?"

Kairi smiles secretively. "It's nothing, really. He just gave me this idea to work with, but I'll need some help…" She looks around at each of her friends, weighing her options. Her violet eyes land on Naminé and she grins. "Naminé! Care to help me with a project?"

At the word 'project' Naminé perks up and looks interested. "Project? What kind?"

"The fun, secretive kind." Kairi replies.

Naminé doesn't have to think twice. "To the Kairi Cave!" She shouts, making everyone laugh.

* * *

Later that night Kairi and Naminé sneak into the bedroom of their favorite pair of twins and gently shake the two awake.

"Naminé?" Roxas sleepily asks. He sits up and rubs the sleep from his eyes. "What are you doing here?"

Naminé places her finger over her lips, motioning for Roxas to be quiet. "Hurry and get dressed." She whispers. "We have a surprise for you two."

"Surprise?" Sora groggily asks. "I like surprises."

"Shh!" Kairi whispers. "Get up and get dressed. And hurry!"

The boys crawl out of bed and sluggishly pull on a shirt and jeans, not even noticing that they've managed to dress identically. They fumble with the shoestrings on their sneakers and soon give in and let Naminé and Kairi quickly tie them. Then the four teens are out the window and running along the shadowed streets of Twilight Town until they get to one of the many entrances to the tunnels, which is where they stop.

"This is where we split up." Kairi says. "Sora, you and I are going to Sunset and Naminé and Roxas are going to stay here in Twilight."

Sora frowns. "But why? Isn't this surprise for the both of us?"

"Well… yes and no." Naminé says. "There's a reason for splitting you two up. You'll see."

Roxas yawns. "Lets just get this over with so I can go back to bed. Lead on, Naminé."

Naminé nods and starts walking again. Roxas follows without a word, although a thousand and one questions run through his mind.

Sora follows Kairi into the system of underground tunnels, and ,unlike Roxas, he's not too tired to ask a bunch of questions. It doesn't help at all though, as Kairi expertly evades each and every one of them.

Kairi stops at the end of the tunnel and turns to Sora. "Your surprise is waiting for you at the top of Sunset Hill. Try not to keep it waiting."

If Sora is at all confused about the instructions he doesn't show it. He just cheerfully nods and bounds off to the hill. Kairi smiles as she watches her friend go.

"Good luck, Riku." Kairi whispers into the air before she turns around and walks back into the tunnels.

Sora easily walks up the path leading to the top of Sunset Hill. He's gotten more than used to it after visiting it nearly every day after school. He soon reaches the top and looks around for his surprise. His blue eyes land on a lone figure and he manages a single step forward before his legs buckle and he hit's the ground without taking his eyes off the figure. "R-Riku. Riku's back." He whispers. He closes his eyes, feeling the prickling of tears and hoping to hold them back.

Because he closes his eyes, Sora doesn't see Riku walk over to him and kneel in front of him.

"I waited for you!" Sora shouts angrily, unable to stop the tears from rolling down his cheek. "I waited for some sign that you were coming to visit all summer! A letter, a phone call, an e-mail-- anything!" He opens his eyes and glares at Riku. "I waited for you, Riku! And then you- you just-" He growls and weakly punches the ground.

Riku gently lifts Sora's chin so he's looking into his eyes. "Sora, I'm sorry. I won't do that again. I promise."

Sora sniffs. "Really?" He asks.

Riku nods. "Really." He confirms. "I promise to talk to you every single day."

"Riku, you wouldn't think I'm a complete weakling if I were to hug you and cry some more, would you?" Sora asks.

Riku smiles. "Hug away."

The brunet laughs and latches onto Riku, comforted by the fact that he's back in his boyfriend's arms. One thought at the back of his head nags at him until he says something.

"Hey Riku, won' talking on the phone everyday get expensive?" Sora asks.

"Why talk on the phone when we can talk face to face?"

Sora briefly pulls away to look up at Riku in shock. "You're moving back?!"

Riku nods. "Yeah. We're living with Reno in this nice apartment building back in Twilight."

"You're the guys who moved into the Johanson's old place!" Sora exclaims. "That means you live just a few blocks from me!"

"Really? I hadn't noticed." Riku teasingly says.

Sora laughs and gently punches Riku's arm. "Dummy." He says fondly. "How could you forget where your wonderful, funny, lovable boyfriend lives?"

"Never." Riku says before claiming Sora's lips with his own.

* * *

Roxas glares at the whole in the wall before looking over at Naminé. "I cannot begin to describe my hatred for this hole. You know that, Naminé."

Naminé sighs. "I know, Roxas. It wasn't my idea for it to be through here! And I tried to explain this to him but--" She stops and covers her mouth, her eyes wide.

"Him who, Naminé?" Roxas asks, not at all happy with the situation. "Tell me whose idea this whole thing was now."

"I can't." Naminé says, looking away from Roxas. "I'm sorry, Roxas. But I can't tell you! I promised that I wouldn't!"

Roxas looks away from the whole in the wall. "I'll go, but only if you promise to never do anything like this again."

"I promise." Naminé says. "You know I don't like having to keep things from you. And I wouldn't be doing this if it wasn't for a good reason!"

Roxas sighs. "I know." He looks back at the hole. "So I really have to go in there?" He asks.

Naminé nods. "Yes. Follow the path through the trees. You want to go to the front gate of the old mansion. That's where your surprise is."

Roxas gulps. "T-the old mansion? The one everyone says is haunted?"

Naminé rolls her eyes. "Roxas, that house is not haunted. How many times will I have to tell you that before you'll believe me? Besides, the White Ghost hasn't been seen in years. And it's not like you'll actually be going in."

Roxas still looks apprehensive about going anywhere near the old mansion.

"Do you want me to go with you?" Naminé asks.

Roxas shakes his head. "No. I'll go on my own." He says stubbornly. "I'll be fine. It's only a few trees. And a creepy old house. And an unknown surprise." He forces a smile on his face. "I'll see you tomorrow. If I'm still alive."

Naminé rolls her eyes again and gives Roxas a push toward the hole in the wall. "Quit being so melodramatic and just go." She orders.

Roxas gathers his nerve and quickly walks through the hole. Naminé stands by the entrance in case Roxas chickens out and tries to run out. After fifteen minutes pass she finally leaves, knowing Roxas has most likely gotten through the forest and is at the gate.

With a smile on her face, Naminé makes her way home.

* * *

In the forest, Roxas dashes past the trees and other plant life, trying his best to ignore all the sounds of the animals and insects that can be very spooky when you're all alone in a dark forest.

He soon spots a gap in the trees and, ignoring his fear of the creepy old mansion, runs for it so he can get out of the creepy forest. Just as he clears the trees and the large gate comes into view, Roxas trips and falls in the dew covered grass.

A deep chuckling reaches his ears and Roxas scrambles to his feet and looks around for the source of the noise. Time seems to freeze in place when his eyes land on Axel's skinny form.

"Long time no see, Rox." Axel remarks. "Reno says you have some choice words for me."

"You bastard!" Roxas yells angrily. "You expect that I'll take you back with open arms the second you show up here without so much as a phone call or letter beforehand?! I hate you!"

Axel scowls. "Well excuse me for trying to surprise my boyfriend!"

"Well next time you want to surprise him then don't choose the one place in all of Twilight Town that scares the hell out of him!" Roxas yells. "And don't involve said boyfriend's best friend in it either!"

"That wasn't even my idea! It was Riku's!"

"You should have come up with your own damn idea then!"

"None of mine would have worked!"

"What, a simple phone call to say, 'Hey Roxas, I'm back in town' wasn't good enough?!"

"No! I wanted it to be a surprise, damn it!"

"You could have surprised me at a time of day that's _not __**one o'clock **_in the fucking morning!"

"Fine!" Axel snaps. "I'm fucking sorry for waking you up so early in the morning! I'm sorry for trying to do something special and surprise you! I'm sorry that I love you so damn much that I moved back here to live with Reno and left my parents and new baby sister behind on Destiny Island! I'm sorry!"

With no yelling, the silence is almost deafening. Roxas looks more shocked than angry now and Axel is the one who's really pissed off, whether it be at himself or Roxas.

Somewhere in the forest a dying bush bursts into flames and slowly burns to ash. It's the only thing affected by the flames.

Roxas takes a step forward. "You love me?" He asks, his eyes searching.

Axel nods and calms himself down before he talks so he doesn't sound angry. He walks over to Roxas and bends down to kiss him, pausing mere centimeters before Roxas's lips. "Roxas Strife, I love you."

"I love you, Axel." Roxas whispers before closing the distance between his lips and Axel's.

* * *

**Seven Years Later**

Roxas yawns while he scribbles down some notes from one of his text books from one of his business classes. He pauses when he hears a crash downstairs followed by Axel yelling for help.

Roxas sighs and sets his pencil down before he gets up and goes downstairs to check on his husband and his two little nephews.

On occasion Sora and Riku drop off their twin sons so they can have some alone time or because somehow band practice is at the same time that Riku has to coach his team of 4th, 5th, and 6th graders (during summer only).

And as much as Roxas and Axel love baby-sitting the blond-haired three-year-olds, they are a handful.

"Roxas!" Axel yelps. "Help me! They-- NOOO! DON'T TOUCH THOSE!"

Roxas hurries down the stairs and walks quickly into the living room and nearly laughs at the sight of Axel tied up with ribbon while the twin boys happily paint on his face, arms, and clothes.

"Zell, Vaan, what are you two doing?" Roxas asks, trying to keep his voice as humorless as possible.

"Paintin'," Vaan says as he paints a rainbow on Axel's cheek.

"Make sure you clean up when you're done." Roxas says before turning around to walk to the kitchen. Axel's yell of, "Help me, Roxy! Save me!" makes him laugh and walk all the more faster to the kitchen.

Once in the kitchen he starts making sandwiches for lunch. For Zell and Vaan he makes peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and for Axel and himself he makes turkey sandwiches. While making them he gets to listen to Axel's cries for help and Zell and Vaan's squeals of joy.

"Zell! Vaan! Untie Axel and wash your hands! Lunch is ready!" Roxas calls as he sets two paper plate down on the plastic kiddy table. He hears the delighted yells from the boys before the phone starts ringing. With a sigh, he walks across the kitchen and picks it up on the second ring. "Hello?"

"_Hi, Roxas! How's my most favorite brother in the whole wide world?"_

"No." Roxas deadpans. "Sora, whatever it is, my answer is no."

"_But Rox, you haven't even heard what it is yet." _Sora complains. _"Could you at least let me ask before you shoot down my hopes and dreams?"_

Roxas sighs. "Fine. What is it?"

"_Demyx and Zexion want someone to go with them to the orphanage tomorrow. I can't go because tomorrow's my shift at the delivery service and Riku has to watch the twins. And since you don't have work and Axel isn't working on any big projects right now, I figured you two could go."_

"Why not Kairi and Pence?" Roxas asks.

"_Pence has a photography thing and Kairi's taking Sakura to the park tomorrow. And before you ask, Olette and Hayner can't go either and neither can Marluxia and Naminé. Olette has a shift at the hospital tomorrow and Hayner has his soccer practice. And Marly and Naminé are leaving tonight to go visit Luxord and Xemnas in Traverse Town and to see that casino Xemnas opened."_

"There's no escape, is there?" Roxas asks, already knowing the answer. He looks over at the door as the twins scamper into the kitchen and make a beeline for their table. He snickers when Axel walks in, covered in paint.

"_What's so funny?"_

"Oh, nothing really." Roxas says lightly. "Your boys just decided to artistically express themselves by tying up Axel and then smearing paint all over him. No big deal."

"No big deal my a- butt." Axel quickly amends. "Give me the phone. I have a few choice words to give my dear brother-in-law regarding the little monsters."

Roxas chuckles. "Sora, tell Demyx and Zexion that Axel and I will see them tomorrow. Is there a particular time we should be ready?"

"_I know they want to be there by ten." _Sora replies. _"So you might want to be ready by nine."_

"Okay, see you later, Sora."

"Bye, Rox."

Roxas hangs up the phone.

Axel grumpily picks up his turkey sandwich and takes a bit, trying to ignore the feeling of half-dried paint on his skin. He swallows and looks over at Roxas. "I am not watching the twins tomorrow." He says.

"Don't worry, it's not the twins we'll be watching." Roxas replies. "Demyx and Zexion want someone to go with them to the orphanage and Sora volunteered us."

"Don't you have work tomorrow?" Axel asks before taking another bite of his sandwich.

Roxas frowns. "Sora said it was his turn. Hang on, let me check." He walks over to the bulletin board they keep and checks the calendar. There in blue for the next day is written: "Shift at SHDS 8 to 3". Roxas curses. "Damn it, Sora!" He mutters, forgetting about the two highly impressionable 3-year-olds eating peanut butter and jelly sandwiches behind him.

"Uncle said bad word!" Zell says.

"Ooo! Uncle bad!" Vaan chimes in.

Roxas wonders if slamming his head violently against the wall would be a good thing or not and comes to the conclusion that it would most likely result in him having a splitting headache. So instead of doing that he walks back over to the phone and dials the number he knows he can usually reach Cloud at.

"_Hello, Strifehart Delivery Service," _Comes the familiar sweet voice of Tifa Lockhart.

"Hey, Tifa. Is Cloud around?" Roxas asks.

"_Sorry, Roxas. You just missed him. Would you like for me to pass on a message to him or Leon?"_

Roxas sighs. "Yeah. Tell him I can't make it in tomorrow. And call Sora and tell him that he had better take my shift or I'll hunt him down and kick his ass."

Tifa laughs. _"I'll be sure to pass the word along, Roxas. Is there anything else you need? Any package for Yuffie and Rikku or Axel's family?"_

"None that I can think of." Roxas says.

"Tell her to remind Cloud and Leon of the dinner on Friday." Axel says as he starts on his second sandwich.

Roxas relays the message to Tifa and talks to her for a minute longer before he says goodbye and hangs up.

"Everything in order?" Axel asks, starting on one of Roxas's sandwiches.

Roxas walks over to check on Zell and Vaan and to make sure they've eaten their food. "Sora's taking my shift tomorrow so we can go with Demyx and Zexion." He frowns when he sees that Zell has only nibbled on his sandwich. "Zell, aren't you hungry?" He asks, kneeling down beside the blond.

Zell nods. "Don' want." He says, pushing away his plate.

Roxas sighs, having a feeling he knows what's wrong. "Okay, so what do you want, Zell?"

"Hot dogs!" Zell happily yells.

Axel snickers. "Sounds like Riku back when we were eight. He had the strangest obsession with hot dogs for an entire year. After that I never wanted to see another hot dog again."

Roxas rolls his eyes as he stands up. "Are you sure that wasn't you?" He asks as he walks over to the refrigerator to retrieve a package of hot dogs. He sets the package on the counter and then gets a pan from a cupboard and fills it with water before putting it on the stove.

"What's uncle doing?" Vaan asks.

"Making hot dogs. Would you like one?" Roxas asks.

Vaan wrinkles his nose. "Nuh-uh. Hot dogs are icky."

Axel looks proudly at Vaan, seeing him in a new light. Roxas notices the look in his eyes and sighs.

"Axel, there will be no corrupting your brother's son, do you hear me?" Roxas asks. "At least, no corrupting when I'm around."

Axel pouts. "But Roxy! He's already like a mini-me! Can't I just influence him enough that he grows up to be a pyromaniac artist with crazy friends? Pretty please?"

"Even ignoring the fact that you having a mini-me is a very scary mental image, the answer is no." Roxas says firmly. "And besides, he wants to be a sky pirate. Right, Vaan?"

"Yup!" Vaan says cheerfully, nibbling on a piece of crust. He looks hopefully at his twp uncles. "Cookies?" He asks.

"Axel, go ahead and get Vaan's cookies." Roxas instructs.

"What 'bout me?" Zell asks.

"I'll get yours too, Zell." Axel says, brushing his hands off on his pants. "You just have to promise you'll eat your hot dog."

"Promise!" Zell says cheerfully. "Yay, hot dogs!"

Roxas leans against the counter and watches as Axel gives cookies to the twins. _'As much as I love Zell and Vaan, I still don't want kids.' _He chuckles when the two start comparing cookies to see who's is bigger. _'At least, not right now. Maybe in a few more years.'_

* * *

"Yunie!" Rikku squeals as she glomps her favorite cousin. "You came to visit!"

Yuna laughs. "Of course I did. Tidus has a game out here, so I figured I'd visit while he has practice and the game." She ducks out of Rikku's grasp, only to be captured in a hug by Yuffie. "Okay, I get it! You missed me!" She says through laughter.

"Yay, she understands!" Yuffie says, releasing Yuna.

"She's one of us now." Rikku jokingly says. "Maybe we should warn Tidus."

"Or we could not and see how much Tidus freaks out." Yuna suggests half-jokingly. "Although it may not be such a good idea since we brought Nerina with us."

Rikku squeals again. "Where is she? Where's my favorite little cousin in the whole wide world?"

"I dropped her off back at Lulu and Wakka's place." Yuna replies. "She's worn out from the trip here and I felt it'd be best to let her get some sleep before visiting with you and Yuffie. You two can be rather tiring."

"I'd rather be energetic-tiring than boring-tiring." Yuffie says. "So I'll take what you said as a complement."

"Speaking of tiring, we still have to go look over the Club Spira we built here on Destiny Island. It's time for our weekly visit." Rikku says. She offers one arm to Yuffie and the other to Yuna. "Shall we?"

"Lets." Yuna agrees.

* * *

"My babies!" Shrieks Mrs. Strife, rushing forward to tightly hug Sora and Roxas. "Oh, I've missed you so much!"

"Aw, no love for the hubbies?" Axel asks as he walks in with Riku, who is trying to keep hold of Zell and Vaan. "I'm hurt, momma-Strife."

Mrs. Strife beams at Axel and releases Sora and Roxas from her choking hold. "Now, now. You know I love you and Riku just as much as I love my boys."

"G'amma!" Zell and Vaan yell in unison. The two terrors run right past Riku, who feebly tries to stop them, and over to Mrs. Strife, who bends down to hug them.

"Hello, little ones. Guess what we're having for dinner."

"Hot dogs!" Zell yells happily, which makes Sora groan.

"Mom, we're trying to _break _him of his hot dog obsession, not _encourage _it!" Sora says in an annoyed voice.

"But he's just so cute!" Mrs. Strife squeals, giving both of the little boys an extra hug. "How can you resist?"

"Hey, I practically _invented _puppy eyes." Sora says. "Riku may be a big weakling against it, but I'm completely immune."

"Knock, knock!"

Everyone turns around to see Demyx and Zexion standing in the doorway with their newly adopted little girl, Aqua.

Mrs. Strife squeals at the sight of the blue-haired little girl. "Oh, she's so cute!" She says as she stands up. "What's her name and when did you get her?"

"Her name's Aqua and we adopted her on Tuesday." Demyx says happily.

"He's already attached." Zexion tells Riku. "Don't be surprised if he doesn't leave her alone for longer than five minutes."

Cloud walks into the hallway and clears his throat to get everyone's attention. "Father sent me to tell everyone that dinner is ready." He raises an eyebrow when he sees Demyx, Zexion, and Aqua. Then he sighs. "I'll tell Aerith to set out more plates." He says as he turns around to go back to the kitchen.

"It's a good thing we're eating outside." Mrs. Strife cheerfully says. "We wouldn't have nearly enough room if we were eating inside. I think we are… twenty-ish?" She frowns. "Wow, that's a lot."

"I forgot to mention, I invited Naminé and Marluxia to join us too." Roxas says. "I invited Hayner and Olette too, but they can't make it. And Larxene said she might drop by after class."

Demyx shudders. "As if the image of her as a lawyer isn't frightening enough, now she wants to be a judge!"

"I think it's wonderful." Mrs. Strife says with a smile. "Now, you all go outside and eat. I'll wait here for Naminé and Marluxia. Do you think they'll be bringing darling Zen?"

Roxas nods. "I told them they could, so I'm pretty sure they'll bring him."

Mrs. Strife looks positively giddy as she steps aside so the others can walk past her to go through the kitchen to the backyard. While she waits, the others gather in the backyard to talk and get the kids over to their side of the yard with the swing set and sandbox and the kiddy picnic table.

Already sitting at the table is six-year-old Skylar Strifehart, the adopted blue-eyed, blonde-haired daughter of Cloud and Squall. Beside her is five-year-old Haruko Heartstone. Soon Vaan, Zell, and Aqua join them, happily talking to one another.

Fifteen minutes later everyone except Larxene has arrived and is sitting at one of the many tables. The kids have been joined by Marluxia and Naminé's pink-haired four-year-old boy, Zen, as well as Pence and Kairi's red-haired three-year-old girl, Sakura.

All of the adults sit over at the three picnic tables that have been pushed together. Every now and then Demyx or Marluxia or Mrs. Strife get up to check on the kids.

Amidst the chaos Sora sits and looks around at his family, just taking in everything. His parents sit beside one another talking quietly to one another. His mother's blonde hair shines in the sunlight while his father's brown hair, so similar to his own, seems to absorb the light instead of reflect it.

Sora looks around and his eyes land on Kairi, Pence, Naminé, and Marluxia. Naminé and Kairi look prettier than ever in their flowing summer dresses. Pence has slimmed down a little over the years and Marluxia looks less feminine than he did in high school.

Sora smiles when Roxas and Axel join the three, startling Naminé. He almost laughs when Demyx comes out of nowhere and leaps on Axel's back, nearly knocking the redhead over. Zexion calmly gets his husband down and sends him off to check on the kitchen.

Sora's eyes follow Demyx over to the kids and he sighs when he sees Zell quite happily eating nothing but hot dogs. His smile softens at the sight of Vaan playing with Sakura and Aqua and Haruko, Zen, and Skylar quietly talking on the other side of the table.

Strong arms wrap around his waist and Sora looks away from the kids to look up at his husband.

"You looked like you were think about something." Riku says. "I had to come make sure nothing was wrong. I don't want you to hurt yourself." He finishes teasingly.

Sora rolls his eyes and leans back into the embrace. "That's mean. I was just thinking about how lucky I am to have all of this."

"Maybe it's destiny." Riku remarks.

"Destiny…" Sora repeats. "Yeah. Maybe."

* * *

**__**

**__**

**_THE END_**

* * *

Shiro: There. That's it. All done. Finished. Completed. The end. (falls over and sleeps)

Bast: (grins devilishly and holds up a squirt gun) Oh, hikari!

Damian: (rolls eyes and grabs the squirt gun) Don't. She's already exhausted and has sunburn. She doesn't need to be tortured anymore.

Shiro: (keeps eyes closed) Actually, cold water would feel really good on my skin right now. My arms are kind of, you know, _burning_. It's not pleasant.

Kaze: How the hell do you get sunburn this late in the year.

Shiro: (glares sleepily) FFA Food 4 America yesterday. I was outside all damn day. And it was sunny and hot. But I got to miss all my classes and play with kittens all day, so it was totally worth it. And I got ice cream. I like ice cream.

Damian: Shouldn't you be talking about the story right now?

Shiro: Oh. Yeah. Lets see. If it helps, I'll go through and give little profiles for the kids right now. Yeah. Lets do that.

* * *

PROFILES

**Vaan **Firehaven  
Parents: Riku and Sora  
Sibling: Zell (fraternal twin brother)  
Hair: blond  
Eyes: blue or blue-gray  
Age: 3  
From: Final Fantasy XII

**Zell **Firehaven  
Parents: Riku and Sora  
Sibling: Vaan (fraternal twin brother)  
Hair: Blond  
Eyes: blue  
Age: 3  
From: Final Fantasy VIII

**Aqua **Kaiyou  
Parents: Zexion and Demyx  
Hair: blue  
Eyes: blue  
Age: 4  
From: Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep

**Sakura **Kokoro  
Parents: Pence and Kairi  
Hair: red  
Eyes: brown  
Age: 3

**Zen **Flora  
Parents: Marluxia and Namine  
Hair: pink  
Eyes: blue  
Age: 4

**Haruko **Heartstone  
Parents: Zack and Aerith  
Hair: dark brown  
Eyes: blue  
Age: 5

**Skylar **Strifehart  
Parents: Cloud and Squall  
Hair: blonde  
Eyes: light blue  
Age: 6

**Nerina  
**Parents: Tidus and Yuna  
Hair: brown  
Eyes: one blue, one green  
Age: 2 1/2

* * *

Well, that's the kids. I hope I got them all. I just wanted to make sure there was no confusion about them.

And I've dragged this on long enough, so this needs to end now. This story is officially over and I can't tell if I'm relieved or sad. Maybe both. Now I can put my full attention on Herutsu no Oukoku before I lose all sight of what I was going to write for it. I don't think it'll be as long as this one, but who knows. My stories tend to grow from my original plans into something huge and monstrous.

I'll be working on a few one-shot between Herutsu no Oukoku and my next big KH fanfic, whichever one it may be. I've got this little list of story ideas, so I have a few to choose from. My favorite right now is 'Angel In Disguise', so once Herutsu no Oukoku is finished be on the lookout for that one.

So, THANK YOU to everyone who reviewed or added this story to your alerts or favorites page. You have helped me send IMBD up to the top of my stats page. It's the 3rd longest story (in regards to the number of words), it came in 2nd in the amount of hits, it's 4th in number of fav's, unfortunately it's only 8th in number of reviews :(, and once again I am proud to say that it is FIRST in number of alerts.

So again, THANKS everyone. If it weren't for you guys then this story would be the one on hold until HnO got finished.


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